Kyoukatsu
by Immortal Fallen Angel
Summary: Shinichi goes missing. Kaito worries. Conan rushes to the scene. When Kid himself gets cornered and contact with his favorite detective is lost, where else can his sanity go but down? KaiShin. Warning: Extreme Angst.
1. Revealed

**Kyoukatsu (Blackmail)**

AN: Ehehehe... (shifty eyes) I shoooould be working on other fics... but this bitch has been on my mind for a whiiile. xD;;; Oh well :3 This is, obviously, my first DC fic D: So I hope it's okay! But eh. I have about... tenish chapters of this all typed out? About that :3;;;

Beta: Daisuke Kazamatsuri

**Warning: THIS IS YAOI. AS IN BOY LOVE. DON'T LIKE? DON'T READ. **

Anyways! 8D Let's get reading, shall we?

Disclaimer: I would LOVE to own Kaito! ^^ And yet I don't D: I only own this idear and what not.

* * *

**Prologue: Revealed**

_Secrets: kept from the knowledge of any but the initiated or privileged; a mystery._

_Everyone has at least one secret that they want never to get out. Some secrets are bigger than others, sure, but they're secrets nonetheless. Secrets can vary from taking a few dollars from your sister without her knowing, to lying about being single, to… I don't know, being afraid of fish or something silly like that._

_Depending on the situation, a secret being revealed might not cause the end of the world as you know it. Your sister finds out you stole a few dollars from her? She makes you pay her back, with slight interest. Your girlfriend finds out your married? You're suddenly single. Your childhood friend finds out you're terrified of fish? …Ahem. I believe you get the idea._

_However, it is also very true that if a secret is made public, it might just turn your whole world upside down. Your boss finds out you never finished high school, ruining your career, the bank finds out everyone of your checks have bounced, you loose all your money… that damn fish on the river side scaring you half to death._

_If one were to have a large and powerful secret, it's only natural that, if said secret were reveled, it would have a large and powerful backlash. The same can be said of small secrets with small backlashes._

_Hmm, I wonder what the consequence would be if _my_ secret became public knowledge?_

…_Nah. Not gonna happen anytime soon. No need to worry about that right now._

_Those are thoughts reserved for a more dire situation. Which, if luck holds out, will never happen._

* * *

A faint laugh echoed throughout the confined walls of the vault, the only other sound in the room a quiet clicking of metal against metal. Police sirens rang in the distance, causing the laughter to increase slightly in volume. Nakamori-keibu still couldn't tell the difference between Kid and a dummy after all this time.

"You'd think he'd learn by now." The Phantom Thief said, finally getting the lock on the display case open, freeing bright blue gem. "I guess you really can't teach an old dog new tricks, even if the trick is as old as the dog. Oh well. Makes my job all the easier." A sigh escaped his lips as he snatched the blue gem up, pocketing it instantly. "But where is the fun in that?"

"Bored with your games already, Kid?" a voice said from behind the white clad thief. The slight frown gracing Kaito's lips turned into a wide grin as he turned around to his near mirror image. "Or does the Task Force no longer meet your expectations?" the other boy asked, a smirk identical to Kaito's on his face. Kaito's grin could only widen as he held out his arms in a grand motion, not affected at all at being caught in the act. The thief expected nothing less from Kudo Shinichi.

"Ah, Tantei-kun! Right on time! I see you were able to decipher my riddle, as usual?" Kaito replied, still holding his arms out to the side. "Tell me, how quickly were you able to figure out my message? Was it too easy? Too difficult? Tell me so that I am able to make the games more enjoyable!" the Thief declared, a glint of mischief in his eyes at his own words.

"Heh." Shinichi let out a slight chuckle, closing his eyes for a moment before his gaze was quickly returned to the Phantom Thief. "Neither. It was exactly what I would expect from the Great Kaitou Kid." These words caused Kaito's smirk to turn into a prideful smile.

"Why thank you, Tantei-kun!" Kaito exclaimed, bowing towards the other before quickly standing up straight once more. "A magician always loves to get feedback from his audience! Admittedly, I am slightly disappointed that the riddle was, as you so kindly put it, 'expected'. I guess I'm going to have to try harder to catch you off guard, eh, Tantei-kun?" the thief declared with a wink, causing a faint blush to appear on Shinichi's cheeks.

"Are you going to hand over the gem, Kid, or are we going to continue on with your game?" Shinichi asked, quickly regaining his composure. That mischievous smirk once again appeared on Kaito's lips, a glint appearing in his eyes as well.

"Why quit now when we've only just gotten to the best part!" Kaito said excitement clear in his voice. There was no way he would stop the heist now, even if he knew if this gem was not Pandora. Shinichi was the only one that could give Kaito a challenge anymore, give his heists a little more spark. If there was a way to prolong his heists when Shinichi was there, he would go out of his way to do it. Games were never fun if everything went according to plan. "What good is a game if there is no challenge at the end, Tantei-kun?"

"I was hoping you would say something like that, Kid." Shinichi replied, a slight smirk tugging at his lips.

"Then, let the games commence!" The thief announced confetti and streamers suddenly popped open in front of Shinichi. The detective covered his face from the colorful paper, flinching to keep it out of his eyes. Party favors from hidden contraptions? Typical Kaitou Kid. Shinichi quickly pulled his arm down, only to discover the thief was gone. He quickly looked around, trying to figure out where Kaito had gone, his blue eyes scanning over the room for any trap doors, seeing as how he was standing in the middle of the only entrance to the room.

"There!" Shinichi said, seeing a slight flutter of movement towards the back of the room. The detective's legs quickly took him to the spot, where Shinichi instantly saw that there was a window in the room, cleverly hidden from view by a sheet the same color as the walls. Shinichi yanked the sheet away, the window open wide enough for a person to squeeze through. The brunette stuck his head out the window, noticing that there was a fire escape right under the small opening. This was, without a doubt, where the Phantom Thief had gone.

Sticking one leg out the window and onto the fire escape, Shinichi was soon taking off after the white clad thief, hoping that his legs were fast enough to catch the other teen.

Luckily for the detective, the room where the gem had been kept was towards the top of the building, so Shinichi didn't have to climb much higher before reaching the roof. Once on the roof, Shinichi quickly glanced around the area, looking for the Kaitou.

It was only a few seconds before Shinichi's eyes landed on his rival. Kid was on the other side of the roof, his silk cape blowing in the wind behind him. Kaito had not yet noticed Shinichi, holding up the newly stolen gem to the moonlight. After standing like that for a few moments, Kaito let out a sigh and once more pocketed the gem, a slight look of disappointment on his face.

"Not shiny enough for you, Kid?" Shinichi said with a smirk as he made his way over to the Kaitou. The thief turned around, mirroring the others smirk with one of his own.

"Not exactly, Tantei-kun." Kaito replied his poker face back in place, but his eyes still showing slight disappointment. What he was disappointed about, however, Shinichi didn't know. Maybe that his heist was over far too soon for the thief's liking? Possibly, but Shinichi was convinced there was another reason.

Before Kaito could say anymore, loud banging echoed throughout the building, causing both teens to jump slightly. After a few more bangs, Nakamori's voice rang out clear as day. The Task Force must have finally realized that Kaito was back at the designated spot, whereas the Kaitou they were following was nothing more than a dummy.

"It looks like your time is up, Kaitou Kid." Shinichi said a slight sadness in his tone. He rather enjoyed Kid's heists. They were exciting, to say the least. Kaito tipped his hat slightly towards Shinichi, a sad smirk on his lips.

"That it is, Tantei-kun." Kaito replied. "But do not fret! For there shall be another show for us to take part in soon enough!" And before Shinichi could form a sentence, Kaito jumped off the building, still looking at the detective.

Shinichi sprinted towards the edge of the roof, knowing full well that Kaito would be fine. The thief usually ended a heist with jumping off of something. Looking down slightly, before looking up towards the moon, Shinichi saw the white clad figure of his rival/friend flying off on his hang glider.

Right at that moment, Nakamori and his men burst through the roof door, letting out cries of displeasure as they watched Kaito fly away, Shinichi watching as well.

"Damn that thief! I'll catch him next time! I swear it!" Nakamori shouted towards the moon, his face full of determination. A smile made its way onto Shinichi's lips as he heard the older man yell out.

He had been saying that for a while, after all. And Kid was still free as a bird.

* * *

Kuroba Kaito let out a sigh as he made his way up towards his home, cracking his neck slightly as he did. That heist had ended far too quickly for his liking, and thus, he had been left with a little extra energy. To blow off some steam, he'd decided to go out for a quick walk and enjoy the clear night, full moon still high in the sky. The thief put his hands behind his head, looking up at the cloud free sky.

Another heist, another meeting with Kudo Shinichi. At the thought of the other teen, an affectionate smile made its way onto his lips. The detective always made the heists that more exciting. No one else was able to keep up with his riddles, his tricks, his mysterious words. But Shinichi was able to keep up with every little trick and riddle, was able to keep up with Kaito. No one had been able to do that since Kaito first took the position of Kaitou Kid.

Kaito was so lost in his thoughts of Shinichi and future heists, that he failed to notice that the lights in his house, which he knew he left on so he didn't crash into anything on his return home, were now off. This would be no concern, if not for Kaito's mother being off on some trip again, leaving Kaito all alone.

"I'm hom-" Kaito started his routine self welcome upon entering his house, but cut himself off when he finally noticed all the lights off. He glanced around the house, slowly and quietly shutting the door. The thief let his eyes adjust to the darkness before walking forward a little more. After taking two or so steps into his house, Kaito noticed that the only light on in the house was the kitchen light. Creating no noise, Kaito made his way over to the kitchen, slowly peering inside the room.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the kitchen. Kaito let out a quiet sigh, relaxing his guard ever so slightly. As he ventured further into the kitchen, something on the table caught his eye. The thief made his way over and noticed that there was a note on it. He picked it up, his eyes skimming over the words, his face paling as he finished reading.

"_We know who you are, Kaitou Kid. We'll be in touch, real soon. Count on it._

_-The Black Organization."_

* * *

_Hmm, I wonder what the consequence would be if _my_ secret became public knowledge?_

…_Nah. Not gonna happen anytime soon. No need to worry about that right now._

_Those are thoughts reserved for a more dire situation. Which, if luck holds out, will never happen._

Never say never, as they say.

* * *

**Angel**: Well? :3 Like it? Hate it? Want me to kill it with fire? O_O (Please not that last one!) Anyways, I would love to hear what you all have to say about this! ^^ Review? Please? :3 It makes me a happy writer and motivates me to write more~ (That and my damned beta who'll kill me if I don't write ^^;;; )

Anyways! XD Like I said at the start, I have a lot already written out :3 But instead of posting all at once I've decided to post... eh? Once every two weeks? ;D So I'll see you all in two Sundays! Sound fair? Good 83

Review please!

~Angel~


	2. Fault

_Anonymous review replies:_

Lizard: XD A life? Whats that and where can I buy it? :O ;D Here's that update you've been waiting so patiently (probably) for!

E-Chan: Nooo! D: Don't be depressed! Here's more KaiShinny-ness for you :3 And I'm sure there are lots of KaiShin's out there O.o they're just being ninja's a hiding is all~

**A/N**: Back again! ;D Hope you all weren't waiting too long! Anyways a quick note before you go off and read! :O Sorry for any confusion from the last chapter. I didn't notice until a few days after I posted the chapter that my separation lines didn't show up, and my title was missing a few letters. But I have found new lines and the run away letters have been found! So it's all fixed :P That has nothing to do with this chapter but eh XD Just thought I'd tell ya.

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Do you see Shinichi pulling out a fish? Then I don't own it

* * *

**Chapter 1: Fault**

Birds fluttered outside of Ekoda High's window, chirping happily in the trees. Despite the annoying sounds coming from the small creatures, no one paid them any attention. Instead, a majority of the student body was chatting excitedly about the upcoming heist that evening. Students were already making plans to blow off homework to go and see the Kaitou in action that night.

One of the few that wasn't talking about Kid was Hakuba Saguru, who was instead bent over a notebook, perfecting some last minute plans to capture the thief. The detective was confident that tonight's trap would work. He had gone over his plan a hundred times already, despite the warning note having been announced the night before. This plan was his best work yet, in his personal opinion.

But, if the blond detective was being brutally honest with himself, he couldn't be to sure if this plan would actually work or not. Not because of a mistake on his part, however. The plan depended on if Kaito acted the way Hakuba expected him to.

The only reason Hakuba was even considering this was because in recent months, Kaito's heists had changed drastically. Some heists Kaito would send out a warning note for one of his "grand shows", only to sneak around the police and take his desired item secretly, avoiding all attention.

On other heists, Kaito would do his usual routine. He would send out some silly riddle, show up to steal what he claimed he would be stealing, and then leave his designated stage in some grand exit.

Kaito's more typical heists these days, however, were why Hakuba was second guessing his plans.

A good portion of Kaito's heists in recent months had not even been broadcast until the day after the thief had stolen what he wanted. Instead of doing his usual performance thefts, the Phantom Thief had opted for going in, grabbing the item, and getting out, avoiding all attention. The only way that people knew it was Kid who stole the items was the small note that replaced what he stole.

The "get in, get out" method confused Hakuba to no end. Why would Kaito resort to stealing like that, when he loved a good show? It made no sense to the blond detective, and this aggravated him greatly. He wanted answers to all his questions, but the more he tried to figure out those answers for himself, the more questions he came up with.

Hakuba's eyes drifted from his notebook full of plans, over to the boy next to the window. The detective's eyes narrowed slightly as he took in the other's appearance, once again, trying to find more answers to the millions of questions he had. Kaitou Kid hadn't been the only one to change his routines recently, Hakuba noted.

Kuroba Kaito didn't seem as full of life as he had before. Kaito still did magic tricks, but noticeably less than when Hakuba first arrived here about a year ago. Aoko and he have grilled the magician time and time again about his odd behavior, but Kaito would either clam up, or change the subject entirely. Aoko had tried all her usual tactics to get him to talk. She tried threats, begging, bribing, anything that either the young woman or Hakuba could think of. But nothing ever got Kaito to talk.

This annoyed Hakuba almost as much as the mysterious changes in Kaitou Kid's heists did.

Hakuba was used to having questions unanswered where the Phantom Thief was concerned. There was no way of him getting said answers, well, not without catching the Kaitou, first.

But with Kuroba, he saw him on a daily basis, and could talk to the brunette whenever he wanted. And if Hakuba couldn't get the answers out of the magician, then Aoko surely could.

He stared at the brunette for a good minute, observing every tiny gesture, every twitch of the hand or the face, but couldn't find anything really different about the boy. His first thought was to dismiss it, but some deep feeling made him keep staring. There was something very wrong about Kuroba's actions of late, and Hakuba needed to get to the bottom of it.

Kuroba let out a sigh and let his shoulders slump as he continued to stare out the window, Hakuba noted. Not a bored sigh, as he usually did, but rather a sad one. Hakuba raised an eyebrow at this. Whenever Kaito sighed, it was usually followed by a yawn, or an opening to a magic trick. The blond kept his trained eyes on the magician, expecting one or the other. When neither action followed the sigh, Hakuba's eyes furrowed greatly.

Before Hakuba could dwell on the sigh, however, his eyes caught the other's head moving. Kuroba quickly looked in one direction, before letting his eyes wander back to the window. Hakuba blinked and then looked in the direction that Kuroba had just looked at.

_The clock?_ The blond detective thought, his brows once again furrowing in confusion. _Why would Kuroba-Kun look at the clock?_ As he turned his head back to the magician, he once again caught the other casting a quick glance at the clock. The detective also noticed that Kuroba's right leg was twitching slightly. That was new. A twitching leg was usually a sign for excitement, or anxiousness. And from the expression on Kuroba's face, Hakuba knew it was the latter.

What was the magician anxious for? Hakuba cast another glance at the clock to check the time. It was only a few minutes to lunch. Why would Kuroba be anxious for lunch period? That was usually the time that Hakuba and Aoko questioned him about his odd behavior. And the blond knew that Kuroba hated it when they pried into his business like that.

When Hakuba turned his attention back to the brunette, his eyes quickly widened slightly before narrowing a slight anger. Kuroba was already half-way out of his seat, bag all packed up. Now, instead of gazing longingly out the window, he was staring fiercely at the clock, almost willing the bell to ring.

Now that the blond had a clear view of the others face, he took in all of the magicians features, letting them all sink in.

Kuroba's hair was much messier than Hakuba remembered it to be, and it was clearly in need of a trim. His skin looked a little pale, and there were bags under his eyes. As Hakuba's eyes traveled lower, he noticed that the other was skinnier than before, and his fingers were twitching quite a bit. All these signs lead Hakuba to two possible conclusions: A) Kuroba was ill or B) he was deeply, deeply troubled.

Hakuba's analysis was interrupted, however, as the bell rang, signaling the end of class and the beginning of lunch. Before the bell had a chance to finish ringing, Kuroba was already out the door, racing out of class without even a glance behind him.

Yup, definitely troubled.

* * *

He had definitely pissed off time. He didn't know how, or why, but time hated him. He was sure of it.

I mean, how else would you explain the fact that whenever he wanted it to speed up, it slowed down, and when he wanted it to slow down, it sped up? Stupid Father Time and his cruel sense of humor.

That class couldn't have taken any longer to end. For a good portion of the period, Kaito had felt eyes on him, watching every single move he made. He had never actually checked to see who was watching him, but he had one hell of a feeling on who it was.

It had to have been that goddamn detective, observing everything Kaito did, down to the smallest, most insignificant detail. No matter what the magician said, not matter how many times he claimed he was alright, Hakuba kept watching. It unnerved Kaito to the point where he wanted to scream his lungs out.

Kaito hated knowing that someone was watching him. He felt vulnerable, easy to read. He loathed feeling trained eyes on him, taking down his every single move. Kaito got that enough at home, must he be watched at school, too?

That was why Kaito bolted out of class the second the bell rang. He knew that if he stayed in that room longer than he should have, then Hakuba would have either stared at him more, or questioned him. Kaito didn't like either of those options.

Since the lunch bell had only just rung, the halls were clear of all students, leaving Kaito free to run as fast as his legs could carry him. He had to find a secluded place. He wasn't in the mood to deal with people at the moment.

Before all of the students found their way out of their classrooms, Kaito found himself on the roof, sitting by the edge and over looking the courtyard. He let out a sigh as he watched some students making their way towards some trees, planning on having a nice lunch outside.

The Phantom thief lied down, staring up at the clear sky and once again, letting his mind wander.

He couldn't live like this much longer. School, his friends, even his "job" were starting to get to him. It was too much for one seventeen year old to bear alone. Oh how Kaito wished he could confide in someone, _anyone_. But if he did, then they would-

Kaito sat up quickly, his eyes wide with fear. No. He wouldn't even think of letting that happen. Not again. This was his burden and his burden alone. No matter how much it hurt, he'd deal with everything himself. He had to.

The magician sighed and lay back down on the roof, closing his eyes as his back hit the cold surface. How had things gotten to be like this anyways? It was so… unfair. Kaito took a slow, deep breath, before letting it out at an even pace, feeling some of the tension in his body disappearing. If only things could stay this peaceful forever. If only… if only…

Before Kaito was able to finish that thought, he drifted off into a restless sleep.

* * *

_Kaito ran down the street, rain pouring down on his slim frame. The brunette looked behind him, only to see blackened figures, the rain failing to impede them. The Kaitou's eyes widened at the sight of the figures, and he forced his legs to run faster._

_He couldn't let the figures catch him. He just couldn't. Kaito chanced another glance behind him, seeing how far away the figures were. He felt the color drain from his face, as he panicked: they had gotten closer._

_A small noise escaped the teen's lips as he looked back in front of him, trying to speed up once again. Indigo eyes blinked as Kaito's mind finally registered where he was._

_Oh no._

_Oh _god_ no._

_Those… those bastards tricked him! They tricked him into bringing them here! And in his terrified state, he had led them straight to what they wanted._

_Letting his legs follow the familiar path towards his destination, Kaito let his mind wander towards all the possible scenarios that he would walk in on. Kaito could only hope… pray… that none of those scenarios played out upon his arrival. He had already caused misfortune to befall someone. He didn't plan on letting it happen again._

_Coming out of his thoughts, Kaito noticed that he was finally at his destination. Before moving forward, however, Kaito spun around and looked frantically behind him, looking for the figures that had tricked him. Finding them nowhere in sight, Kaito sprinted towards the door of the familiar house, throwing the door open._

_The Phantom Thief stopped dead in his tracks, his face as white as a sheet. Blood coated every part of the first floor of the house. Not a single item was left untouched by the red liquid. _

_Kaito lurched forward, bringing a hand to his mouth. He bit down on his tongue and shut his eyes tight. He was going to be sick. Even if he couldn't see all the blood, the coppery smell easily filled his nose. Even though there wasn't a living soul in the house, Kaito was sure that he could still hear their screams coming from everywhere, begging, pleading for him to help them. The whole area seemed to become too much for Kaito and he turned around and ran as fast as his soaked legs could carry him out of the yard. As he left the blood filled scene, he accidentally ran into a mail box, knocking it back slightly. A name was written on the side of the box, stating who the house belonged to:_

Nakamori.

_The magician kept on running, not paying any attention to where he was going. Kaito still hadn't dared open his eyes, in fear that he might see more blood everywhere. Keeping his eyes closed did very little, however, as the blood coated scene was now forever engraved in his head._

_He had to keep running. If he stopped, then more horrible things would happen. The blood had painted the walls because he had stopped to make sure that they were alright, that they were unharmed. He could never stop running._

_Well, that was the plan, anyway. Kaito only got a few more feet in front of him before he slipped on a puddle and came crashing towards the ground. Kaito landed face first, skidding slightly on the wet concrete. But he didn't get up right away, opting for lying on the cold went ground, trying to force air into his burning lungs._

_After a few moments, Kaito finally began to slowly sit up, his chest still rising and falling at an alarming rate. He had to keep running. If it didn't keep moving, more bad things would happen. Kaito lifted his head, and looked in front of him into the distance—_

_Only to be met with more blood._

_Three bodies were scattered around the street, one young, and clearly just short of adulthood. Another corpse was the body of middle aged women, and the final was of an old man. Kaito let out a startled cry as he fell back onto his butt, staring at the scene with horror filled eyes. No… not them too…!_

"_It's your fault they're gone, Kuroba Kaito…" an ominous voice said from behind the thief. Kaito tensed, his eyes wide with fear. Despite the dark tone to the voice, the thief instantly recognized whose voice it was. It was a voice he would never forget. "You killed them. It's all your fault!" the voice picked up in pitch at the end, as if it were somehow angered by the statement._

_Kaito turned around painfully slowly, looking at the black-cloaked figure behind him. As his indigo eyes landed on the figure, he felt himself begin to tremble violently. No… anyone but him…_

"_You see what you've done to all of us, Kaito? Can you understand all the pain that you've caused us?" Kaito flinched away from the figure slightly, wanting to be as far away from it as possible._

"_I… It's not my fault!" Kaito's defense sounded weak, even to his own ears. The figure's head tilted back, letting out a bone chilling laugh. Kaito flinched again, a shiver running up and down his spine._

"_Not your fault?" The figure cried at last, the laughter turning into rage. "You did this to us!" Oh how Kaito wanted to look away from the figure, pretend he wasn't there. But his eyes couldn't leave the form of the person in front of him, as if some impossibly strong force were holding his gaze._

"_D…did what…exactly?" Kaito asked meekly. The figure's head might have been covered, but Kaito knew that he was smirking._

"_What did you do? You did this!" The figure pulled its hood back, reveling a face covered in blood that ran down from his hair line. Kaito eyes traveled over the face, avoiding eye contact with the figure as long as he could. But soon, Kaito wasn't able to avoid it any longer, and his eyes locked with the figures cold, hate filled ones._

_Once their eyes locked, Kaito let out a blood turning scream.

* * *

_

**_A/N:_** :3 hehe~ Was it worth the wait? Did ya enjoy it? ;D Btw: If you're a KaiShin fan: Gomen about the sliiiight HakuKai in there. If you're a HakuKai fan: why in the name of hell are you reading a KaiShin? O_o And if you're a HakuKai and KaiShin (Like myself) hope you enjoyed!

I kinda feel mean for ending there but... :P Hehe it just worked~ But that's what makes the wait for two weeks from now worth it, riiiight~ ;D That's all I have to say for no-

**B/N:** -dancing for no apparent reason- "If only, if only the woodpecker sighs~" -notices audience- Oops! O.O ^^; Ignore me, I'm only here to edit and motivate the writer! -hides in corner- -shouting, not turning away from corner- BTW, I'm Daisuke Kazamatsuri! -continues hiding-

**A/N:** ...-twitch- ... I don't even know anymore -.-; And I'M supposed to be the crazy one...

See that button down there? The one that says "Give a review"? You know you wanna click iiiiit~ Do it or I'll sick my beta on you :3

~Angel~


	3. Information

_Anonymous Review Replies:_

Scythe: ;) Lots happened. You'll find out what exactly happened in this chapter (well for the most part) Here's your new chapter! XD

Lizard: Aw This is one of your favs? ^.^ That makes me a happy author! =D And I know how you feel. D: Some of my fav KaiShin's don't update a lot either. :P Why I write them so I can keep myself busy XD And I kinda like HakuShin… :P But I prefer HakuKai. Otherwise I can't really see the half Brit with anyone O.o And HeiShin is cute :P But eh KaiShin is better X3 And I can't see Kaito with Aoko. He's just so… Gay. XD So it's either KaiShin or HakuKai for me XD Here's your update! :3

E-chan: I know! Poor Kaito indeed! D: Oh I don't think I've read that :O *will look it up later* And I hope you're okay with it ^^; Eh you'll find out what I mean when you read the first half of this update XD;; And you're very welcome :) I always try to reply to every review! You take the time to review, I should take the time to reply :P And yush! D: Waiting is evil! Granted I'm making you people wait two weeks XP But hey! At least it's an update! And don't worry! :3 I shall keep going! And hahaha! Omg yes! The first time I watched it I only really saw it in that glider fail scene (I'm still laughing at Kaito's face when Conan's trying to put the glider away ;) "Hey that's my… 83 aah~" lmao) But omg it was way more there the second time I watched it XD It made me a happy fangirl 3 Psh! Indeed it was! Daisuke had been singing that while she was reediting the last chapter xD So she wanted to put it in. Props for getting the reference! :D

**A/N**: Woo! :D It's been a long two weeks, no? :P Hope everyone had a good Turkey Day! :3 Hope you're all saved room for some KaiShinnyness X3 Enjoy the chapter! And I know I know XD It's probably not Sunday yet in some places :P But where I am it's already well after midnight! (2 am to be exact O.o) And I felt like uploading! :3 so here you are!

Disclaimer: I own this like Kaito own's a fish! :O

* * *

**Chapter 2: Information **

Kaito sat up abruptly, panting heavily as beads of sweat fell down from his forehead. His hand darted towards his chest, grabbing at the material of his shirt painfully. Not that dream _again_. And at school of all places?

Kaito continued to pant, his heart beating at an alarming rate. He closed his eyes, willing his heart to slow itself down. The thief took a long, deep intake of breath, before letting it out, slowly and shakily. He had to calm down. He couldn't fall apart. Not here, not now.

The Phantom Thief slowly opened his eyes, letting the light shine into his vision. His heart rate was considerably slower than it had been moments before, but it was still beating rapidly. Damn nightmare.

"Kuroba-kun?" came a slow and cautious voice. Kaito jumped a full foot in the air, his heart rate jumping right back up. His head darted towards the door to the roof, his eyes wide with fear. "Kuroba-kun!" The speaker quickly ran towards Kaito, who looked as if he were a deer in headlights. The new-comer reached out towards the scared teen in a comforting gesture, but Kaito flinched away from the hand, closing his eyes and leaning up against the wall. "Kuroba-kun, calm down! It's only me!" Kaito cracked open one eye, taking in the appearance of the other. After a few more moments, Kaito let out a breath he hadn't been aware that he was holding and let his body relax.

"…G-gomen Hakuba-kun… you just… spooked me is all…" Kaito said meekly, not looking the other in the eye. Kaito let his gaze roam downwards, finally noticing that his hands were shaking violently. He gripped his wrists, hoping that that would cease the shaking. It didn't, which annoyed the Kaitou. Hakuba scowled, clearly not believing the younger boy. However, for the sake of not scaring the boy more than he already was, Hakuba slowly put a comforting hand on the others back, noting how the other tensed instantly, before slowly relaxing into the touch.

"You alright now, Kuroba-kun?" the blond detective asked. The other boy nodded meekly, not trusting his voice at the moment. "What happened? Was there someone else up here that was bothering you?" this time, Hakuba's answer was a shake of the head. This caused one of the detective's eyebrows to raise in curiosity. "Then what happened?"

"I… I don't even know…" Kaito said slowly, letting out a slow sigh as he ran a hand through his messy hair. He knew exactly what had happened, he just hoped that the other didn't press him for answers.

Unfortunately, his prayers went unanswered.

"Yes you do, Kuroba-kun. Now, tell me what happened so that I can help you." The other boy said sternly, not letting the other drop this easily. Kaito opened his mouth to reply, but Hakuba cut him off. "And don't just brush this off and say that you're fine. You looked terrified a few moments ago. Someone who looks that scared is far from 'fine'." The blond said almost bitterly.

Kaito closed his mouth, looking off to the side. Hakuba was really pressing for answers this time. The brunette would have to word his reply carefully if he wished to get away from the other quickly. He thought for a few more moments, trying to come up with the best answer he could. After a few moments, Kaito let his head fall forward, a sigh escaping his lips once again.

"It was… just a stupid nightmare. Nothing more." Kaito admitted. It wasn't lying, but it also wasn't the whole truth. Kaito could only hope that Hakuba didn't press for more answers.

"I doubt it was a 'stupid nightmare' if it shook you up this much." Hakuba said, shaking his head from side to side. "There has to be more to this than that. Tell me, Kuroba-Kun. I only want to help you. And I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on." A frown made its way onto Kaito's face, his eyes making their way up to the clear sky above.

"No one can help me now…" Kaito's words were spoken so softly, that Hakuba wasn't even sure he had heard them. Before Hakuba could say anything more, however, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Kaito stood up abruptly, stretching his arms high above his head. A wide smile appeared on the magician's lips as he looked down at the blond, the smile looking almost painful. "Well, it was nice talking to you, Hakuba-kun! But now if you'll excuse me, I have study period and then gym, so I think I'm going to head home. Ja Ne!" Before Hakuba could comment, Kaito began to quickly walk towards the door leading downstairs.

Hakuba stood up straight and glared after the other boy, knowing it was useless to chase after the thief. He cursed under his breath, running a hand through his hair as he looked up at the sky, some birds passing over head right at the moment.

"What has gotten into you, Kuroba Kaito?" Hakuba said to no one in particular.

* * *

Edogawa Conan cursed under his breath as he sat up in his futon, furiously rubbing at his head in aggravation. That stupid thief! He'd pulled a fast one on him _again_ last night! God damn him! Conan let out a loud sigh as he flopped down onto his pillow, glaring up at the ceiling above him.

Three months. Three freaking months since he'd last seen the thief. Three months since Kaitou Kid's heists had changed drastically.

And three freaking months since he'd turned into a freaking first grader.

It was safe to say that Conan was quite annoyed with the world at this moment.

Conan took another deep breath, before letting it out loudly. He knew it had been hopeless, but he had been hoping that Kaito's heist last night would have been a normal one. But, his hopes had gone unanswered as Kaito, yet again, didn't even bother with his show, and instead had just snuck by them all and took the jewel. Conan had gone to the heist for nothing.

The mini detective sat up slowly, narrowing his eyes at the wall in front of him in concentration. It had been three months since things had changed, and Conan still had no idea what was wrong with the thief. The small boy was really starting to get worried. What could cause such a carefree spirit to change so drastically?

"Conan-kun!" came Ran's voice from downstairs. Conan let out a long and loud sigh, not in the mood to deal with his childhood friend. He wanted to stay in his room, or go off by himself and do some more digging. The detective had to find out what was wrong with Kaitou Kid. If only he knew the thief's real identity, that would make this a lot easier. "Conan-kun? Did you hear me?" Ran called up again. The small boy sighed once more as he stood up and went to the door, pulling it open before poking his head out.

"I heard you, Ran-neechan!" the brunette called downstairs, using his most child like voice. How he hated that voice. He wanted his own voice back so badly. "I just gotta change! I'll be down in a second!"

"Okay, Conan-kun! But do hurry up! Tou-San wants us out in the car ASAP! Apparently someone has asked for his help!" Conan couldn't help but roll his eyes at this. Mouri Kogorou was a good detective, but definitely not good as Conan, though he did have to give some points to Kogorou. When he really put his mind to it, he was able to get results… with a little help from the mini detective.

"Don't worry Ran-neechan! I'll be right down! I'll meet you outside!" Before Conan heard the others reply, he had already slammed the door shut, his tiny body slumping against it. He'd have to worry about that stupid thief later. He might as well go with Ran and Kogorou and lend a helping hand as much as he could.

Conan quickly changed into a pair of shorts, a white shirt, his blue blazer and his red bow tie before he ran down the stairs, jumping the last two steps. The small detective quickly glanced around, noting that Ran must already be outside. The small boy ran towards the front door, throwing it open before walking outside, closing the door once he was out.

Conan smiled a wide smile as he saw Ran standing by Kogorou's car, said man already in the driver's seat, grumbling something about "stupid kids taking too long". Conan forced his legs to move as fast as they could toward the car, not wanting to annoy the detective more than he already had. Once he reached the car, he skidded to a halt, his smile turning into a curious frown.

"Where are we going, Ran-neechan?" Conan said, voicing his thoughts. Ran chuckled before climbing into the front seat. Conan reached up and grabbed the back seat handle, pulling the door open before jumping into the car as well.

"We're going to Ekoda, Conan-kun." Ran said with a smile as her father pulled quickly out of the drive way and onto the street. Conan blinked. Ekoda? Wasn't that where a majority of Kaito's heists took place?

"Why are we going there?" Conan asked, tilting his head to the side inquisitively. Kogorou rolled his eyes, slightly annoyed that the kid was there.

"Detective Nakamori asked for me to come and help him with some Kaitou Kid thing. He's completely stumped on what's been going on with that annoying thief lately." The detective said, rolling his eyes as if that had been the most obvious question in the world. "And he might have asked that I bring you along. He thinks you might be able to help him somehow. I highly doubt that, though."

_I'll be of more help than you, old man_. Conan thought, glaring at Ran's father. But that glare quickly turned into a false grin, the boy hiding his annoyance easily.

"But I can be of some help! I've helped on lots of cases before! Why would now be any different?" Conan asked, blinking his big blue eyes as he stared curiously at the elder detective. The man let out a snort, clearly not believing the other's words. Conan glared at the back of the older man's head for a few more moments before his gaze turned to the window.

This was the chance the small detective had been waiting for! He was finally going to get some answers about what had been going on with his friend! Though, Conan refused to get his hopes up to high. If the Kaitou Kid Task Force was asking for Mouri Kogorou of all people, things couldn't be going too well.

Oh well. By this point, Conan would take any information on the thief that he could. Even the smallest detail would help the shrunken detective, though Conan was curious. Why would Nakamori want him to come along? Most people usually wrote him off as some stupid kid that didn't know any better. Looks like someone was finally noticing Conan for the detective he was.

* * *

"Why the hell did you bring along that stupid kid, Mouri!" Nakamori asked, as the trio walked into the station. Conan glared up at the man, his eyes narrowing greatly.

_I may look like a kid, Nakamori-keibu,_ Conan thought, still glaring. _But you sure as hell act like one._

"But in your email you said to bring the brat, Nakamori!" Kogorou defended, glaring at the other detective. "I wouldn't have brought this useless brat if I knew you didn't want him!" Conan's eyebrow began to twitch wildly, annoyed with both of the older men by this point. Didn't the phrase "Don't judge a book by its cover" mean anything to them?

"Why would I want him here? He's just a snot nosed kid!" Nakamori retorted.

Apparently no, they didn't know the phrase.

"Then who the hell told me to bring the kid?" Kogorou asked, his face almost bright red with anger.

"That would be me, Mouri-tantei." A new voice offered. Everyone in the room turned to see a blond teenager walking in, an apologetic look on his face. "Gomen, Nakamori-keibu. Didn't I tell you that I asked Mouri-tantei to bring along Edogawa-kun?" he asked. Nakamori turned his glare from Kogorou over to the new comer.

"No, you most certainly did not, Hakuba-kun!" Nakamori said, advancing on one Hakuba Saguru. "And what the hell are you doing here anyways! You're just a kid yourself!" Despite the words being thrown at him, Hakuba kept a seemingly pleasant look on his face. Conan, however, saw the other's face twitch slightly in annoyance.

"In all fairness, Nakamori-keibu, I've helped you countless times with Kaitou Kid heists. Next to Kudo Shinichi, I'm the one who's gotten closet to him." Nakamori snorted.

"Fine. Whatever. You kids can stay. But you better not get in the way!" Nakamori commanded, pointing a finger first at Conan and then at Hakuba. A fake smile appeared on Conan's face as he looked up at the larger man.

_Me get in your way? You have it backwards, baro._ Conan thought.

"Don't worry, Nakamori-keibu! I won't get in your way!" Conan said aloud, his child voice easing some of the tension out of the detective's body.

Before Nakamori could get another word out, however, a cry of pain filled the station, followed by a loud thud. Everyone turned towards the door, eyebrows raised in curiosity. Conan noted, however, that a flash of amusement crossed Hakuba's features. Before the shrunken detective could dwell on that much longer, a girl walked in, her expression one of anger. Conan blinked as he looked down, noticing that she was holding what appeared to be a leg in one of her hands.

"Kaito no baka!" the girl said, dropping the leg to the ground. "I told you to hurry up or I would drag you in here!" the girl glared down at what Conan now noticed was the body of a teenage boy as she said this. Said boy was groaning in pain, flat out ignoring the girl's comment.

"One of these days you're going to kill that idiot, Aoko-kun." Hakuba said with a slight chuckle. The girl, now identified as Aoko, huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest, her attention now on Hakuba.

"It's not my fault that Kaito wasn't moving fast enough." She said, giving the groaning boy's leg a slight kick.

"And it's not my fault you're impatient, Aoko." The boy on the floor said. Aoko gave him another slight kick, causing him to curse slightly under his breath.

"I'm not impatient! You're just too damn slow!" Aoko's arms went to her side, hands balled up into fists. She turned away from Kaito, now facing the rest of the room. A smirk tugged at Hakuba's lips as he looked down at Kaito in slight pity. Kaito slowly started to sit up from the floor, letting out a few more groans and curses. Before Aoko knew what was happening, the back side of her skirt was flipped upwards, Kaito now clearly standing behind her.

"Ne ne~ I see you're wearing pink today. I didn't even know you owned anything pink, Aoko~" Kaito said, a wide smirk on his lips as he let the skirt fall back into place. Aoko's face was red with both rage and embarrassment as she slowly turned around, clearly about to pounce on Kaito.

"Kaito no hentai!" She shouted, pulling a mop out of nowhere. Kaito's amused expression turned into one of horror as he ran behind Hakuba, whose eyes hadn't left Kaito since the magician had entered the station.

Before Aoko could attack Kaito with her deadly mop, however, Hakuba held up a hand, still standing in front of Kaito.

"Kill Kuroba-kun later, Aoko-kun. We have a job to discuss and Kuroba-kun could actually prove useful." Hakuba said, still trying to fend off the pissed girl. Aoko let out a huff before throwing the mop off to the side, glaring daggers at Kaito.

"I'll get you later, Kaito no hentai!" she said, pointing menacingly at Kaito. The boy laughed nervously, peeking out from behind Hakuba.

"You can't really mean that, can you, Aoko~?" Kaito asked, suddenly appearing in front of Aoko with a rose in his hand. Aoko opened her mouth to comment, but Nakamori appeared behind Kaito and lifted him off the ground by the back of his shirt. "Oi oi oi! What gives!" Kaito asked, flailing slightly. Nakamori shoved his face towards the other's, glaring daggers into the his eyes. A look of fright appeared across Kaito's face at the close proximity, but only Hakuba and Conan noted the boy flinched in reaction to the keibu's motion.

"Now look here, Kaito-kun," Nakamori snapped, his face still close to the magician's. "The only reason I'm allowing you to help in this case is because your knowledge of magic could be useful. But if you even think about laying a hand on Aoko again, you'll be spending the night in a cell, got it?" Kaito closed his eyes, holding up his hands in an defensive position.

"Understood, old man. Can you put me down now?" Kaito had a small apologetic smile on his lips as he looked at the Task Force Leader. Nakamori didn't put the other down right away, however, and instead opted for glaring at the teen.

Hakuba's trained eyes went from Nakamori's face to Kaito's a few times, before finally resting on Kaito's. The teenage detective took this opportunity to look the magician over. He started with the face, noting that the thief had more defined bags under his eyes, and his smile was painfully fake. The half Brit's eyes went further down the other teen, not finding anything else out of place. Once his eyes reached Kaito's hands, however, Hakuba noticed that Kaito's hands were trembling in fright.

_Kaito's scared of Nakamori-keibu?_ Hakuba thought, his eyes narrowing in concentration. _I thought that Kuroba-kun has known Nakamori-keibu since he was a kid. Why would he be scared of him now of all times? Knowing Kuroba-kun, he's lifted up Aoko-kun's skirt in front of the keibu before. Why would the threat bother him now?_

Once Nakamori finally put Kaito down, the thief let out a slight sigh of relief, before really taking in his surroundings. His indigo eyes landed on Kogorou and Ran, and he blinked a few times.

"What's this old guy and prettier, better looking Aoko doing here?" he asked, looking directly at the father and daughter. Aoko's face turned red with anger, while Ran's turned red from embarrassment. Aoko was about to pounce on Kaito, when Hakuba held out an arm, stopping her in her tracks.

"Aren't you forgetting someone, Kuroba-kun?" the blond detective asked. Kaito blinked and began looking around the room, trying to find the person he had missed.

It was then that the thief finally noticed the mini detective, not having a chance to notice his presence until that point. Kaito's indigo orbs ran up and down Conan, taking in every last detail. As far as Kaito could tell, he was just some normal grade-schooler. So why the hell had Hakuba asked Mouri to bring hi—

And that's when Kaito noticed them.

Those wide, curious blue eyes that were currently staring up at him in wonder and confusion. Now Kaito understood why that damn nosey blond wanted this kid here. Conan had eyes that saw every detail, saw everything that there was to see. Kaito could just _tell_ that this was the case, just by looking at those eyes. Kaito had seen eyes like that before. A long time ago, Nakamori had had them, Hakuba currently had them, and so did the other detective that had pursued the thief.

Kudo Shinichi.

There was no doubt that this boy had the eyes of a detective. Kaito was stupid to question Hakuba's judgment like that. If the blond detective had asked for a kid that young, he had to have had a reason for it.

Anyone with eyes so much like Shinichi's had to be an excellent detective.

A wave of pain shot through Kaito's heart at the comparison. That boy's eyes… if Kaito hadn't known any better, he could have sworn that those _were_ Shinichi's eyes.

But Kaito did know better. Those eyes may look like Shinichi's, but they never would be.

The thief could still see those blue orbs, burrowing into his own indigo ones, trying to figure out who Kaitou Kid really was. Oh how Kaito longed to see those eyes once more, even if it was just a quick glance. But Kaito would never get to see those eyes again. All because of—

Kaito mentally shook his head. Now was not the time to reminisce about such things. He had a job to do, and he planned on doing it. That fake smile quickly appeared on his lips again as he looked at the trio, nodding in greeting. "So, you're all here to help out with the Kaitou Kid case…thing?" Kaito had been tempted to say "problem" for a moment, but quickly changed his mind. He wasn't _that_ much of a problem. Well, unless you asked Nakamori-keibu.

The Aoko look alike smiled and nodded her head, pointing to her father. "This is Mouri Kogorou," she said politely before pointing to herself. "I'm Mouri Ran, and this little guy," Ran patted Conan's head, causing an annoyed expression to appear on Conan's face. "Is Edogawa Conan. Conan-kun may be young, but he's a very good detective." A small real smile made its way onto Kaito's face as he crouched down in front of Conan, looking him right into his eyes.

"Well, Conan-kun," Kaito said, Conan noticing a slight glint in the other's eye. That glint seemed so… familiar to the shrunken detective, but Conan couldn't place his finger on it. "Since Kaitou Kid doesn't make things easy for any detective, how about you hold onto MooMoo-chan for good luck?" Kaito's smile widened slightly as he pulled out a small toy cow, a small moo echoing from the toy. Conan blinked his blue eyes, staring at the cow for a moment.

"You pulled it from your sleeve. You're not a very good magician if that's the best you've got." Conan said, looking up from the cow to Kaito. Kaito's smile was instantly wiped off his face as his indigo eyes widened in surprise. The thief vaguely heard a slight chuckle from Hakuba, but his eyes were locked on Conan's, shock clear on Kaito's face.

"Of course that's not the best I've got!" Kaito said, highly offended. The magician rolled up his sleeves and then threw the toy cow up in the air, before quickly catching it, closing his hand as soon as the cow was in his palm. When Kaito opened his hand once again, the cow had been replaced by a small dog. "How about instead of MooMoo-chan, you take Inu-chan instead?" Kaito grinned, sure he had the kid this time. Conan tilted his head, still staring at Kaito.

"You threw the cow up in the air to distract me while you grabbed the dog out of your pocket while my eyes were watching the cow. Are you sure you're a magician?" Conan asked, having to restrain the smirk that wanted to appear on his lips. Kaito once again stared at Conan in shock. The shock, however, was quickly replaced by annoyance. Kaito's eyebrow began to twitch as he stood up straight, pointing down at Conan.

"This kid clearly doesn't know the meaning of 'fun'." Kaito said, looking at a highly amused Hakuba. "Too damn perceptive. Magic isn't something to be analyzed and picked apart like that." Kaito let out a sad sigh, closing his eyes as he shook his head. "You detectives ruin everything." Hakuba and Conan were out right smirking now, taking great pride in annoying the magician.

_What you get for treating me like a little kid, Kuroba no baro._ Conan thought, his smirk growing.

Just then, Hakuba cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the whole room. The blond detective's eyes quickly turned right to Kaito, who tensed ever so slightly, hating those piercing eyes on him. "Anyways, we have more pressing matters than Kuroba-kun acting more like a child then…well, a child." Kaito glared at Hakuba slightly, while Conan just narrowed his eyes at the other detective. Hakuba didn't seem to notice either of their stares, or chose not to care. "We have a thief to catch, and plans to make. So, Kuroba-kun, how about you come and tell me how you think Kaitou Kid escaped last night, hm?" Before Kaito could answer, Hakuba was already pushing the thief outside, so that they could talk in private.

"H-hey! Wait a sec!" Kaito said in protest, but Hakuba ignored him, his intense gaze looking past Kaito. The brunette looked over his shoulder towards a confused Aoko, who just shrugged when she saw Kaito's gaze on her. Kaito sighed and let the other push him out of the room, knowing it was useless to fight.

Kaito hated where this was going.

* * *

**A/N**: Well… .; There was more HakuKai in this one admittedly… But oh look! =D Conan! I hope the length makes up for the lack of KaiShin for the moment :P It was kinda there but so was the HakuKai ^^; That nosey blond keeps trying to take Shin-chan's property! D:

Anyways! :3 I hope you all enjoyed this chapter~ I look forward to seeing your opinions in a _review_ (hint hint)

**B/N**: Yay! The story's moving along 8D -the following is a subliminal message- (Go see Burlesque! It's EPIC!) -thank you for following my subliminal message- Can't wait to see what all your support motivates out of Angel-chan here!

**A/N**: -.-; Do I need a lease for you? My nutty beta aside :P Review please! X3 It makes me a happy panda/writer! :D I know you're out there! :O Tell me what you think please!

~Angel~


	4. Confrontation

_Anonymous Review Replies:_

_Lizard: Yay! Another update! 8D Here's your long awaited chapter ;) Hope you like it as much as the last! (Personally I love that last chapter too. Conan and Kaito's interaction makes me laugh EVERY time I reread it.)_

_Jase S: Ohohoh! Look! :D I'm continuing! And maybe they can help Kaito ;) Maaaaybe~_

_E-Chan: You're very welcome! xD KaiConan may happen… :P You'll just have to keep reading to find out~ And yes! D: Kaito needs to realize his Shin-chan's still there and stop being an idiot! As for Jii and his mom… :P hehe you'll find out sooner or later XD Oh no don't apologize! ^.^ I enjoy long reviews (even though I feel the need to reply a long review reply back :P) And I'm glad you can review for this fic! ^.^ Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside! And Imma look into that :P Thanks for suggesting them! And yes yes! Omg cute! (sooo didn't squeal) Here's your new chapter! ^.^ _

**A/N**: Ohai dere :3 Miss me yet? ;) Of course not xD I'm an evil writer being mean to Kid-Sama xD Oh well x3 Here's your new chapter! :D Sorry about the length D: I tried to make it longer! Truly I did! But alas it was not meant to be! The next chapters will be longer! I pwomise! Anyways, enjoy! :3

**Chapter 3: Confrontation **

Once the two boys were outside, Hakuba none too gently shoved Kaito against the building, causing the boy to stare at him in surprise, as well as a little bit of fear. Hakuba narrowed his gaze as he looked the boy over once again, noting how Kaito was almost visibly shaking right now. Why? Why was Kaito so suddenly scared of anyone being a little rough with him? First it was Nakamori-keibu, now Hakuba? The blond detective needed his answers now.

Before Hakuba could start questioning the thief, Kaito's fear quickly changed to anger as the other glared into brown eyes.

"What the hell Hakuba?" the thief yelled. Hakuba now noted that Kaito still sounded a little scared, the other clearly trying to sound intimidating instead of nervous. "I know you wanna arrest me but this is getting out of-"

"Will you shut up for one second!" Hakuba said loudly, cutting the other off. Kaito flinched at the harsh words, instantly shutting up. Hakuba looked down at the ground, his bangs blocking Kaito's view of the other's eyes. "This isn't about arresting you! Not now anyways!" Hakuba's grip tightened on the others arms, causing Kaito to wince slightly. "There's been something going on with you lately… Something that you're not telling anyone, not even Aoko-kun! And whatever it is has been torturing you! I've tried to be patient, either let this problem run its course, or to have you tell Aoko-kun or me about it. But clearly neither of those two things is going to happen. So that brings us to right here and now. No more waiting, no more beating around the bush." Hakuba raised his head, looking Kaito dead in the eye. "What's going on with you, Kuroba-kun?"

Kaito just stared at Hakuba in shock. Out of all the words he expected out of the other's mouth, what he got was far from it. Kaito knew that Hakuba was mad, probably even a little pissed that he was being so sneaky and distant lately. But this? Apparently the thief's change in attitude had affected the detective more than he thought. And if that was the case, then… Shit.

Shit shit shit!

Hakuba actually _cared_ about the thief. Not just about catching Kaitou Kid, but was actually concerned with his well being. Shit! This made things that much harder for Kaito. Oh how the thief wished the other treated him like the criminal he was, only keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn't do anything. Not worrying about what the hell was going through his head.

Kaito couldn't take much more of this. He had to get away from Hakuba before something else happened, or Hakuba somehow managed to figure something out. And knowing the blond detective, he would come up with crazy conclusions. Some of which probably wouldn't be that far off.

The thief narrowed his eyes and grabbed one of Hakuba's wrists with his hand, holding on with a firm grip. Hakuba's gaze and grip didn't waver, but Kaito saw a flash of shock cross over Hakuba's eyes.

"Just leave me alone, Hakuba!" Kaito shouted, tightening his grip on the others wrist. "For the last damn time! There's nothing wrong with me! I'm just changing how I do things! That's it!" Hakuba's eyes narrowed at the other's words, his scowl growing.

"That's bullshit and you know it!" he said, moving slightly closer to the thief. "You love all things magic! You even love interrupting class to show it off! But at school, you've gone from doing it every day, to maybe once a week. Now you rarely take out that stupid card gun of yours! Same with your heists! You love showing off to your fans, annoying Nakamori-keibu, even disguising yourself as people, especially women!" Kaito, despite the complete seriousness of the situation, had to keep himself from smirking. He liked to think that he acted like women better than he did men.

"Well maybe I just wanted to switch things up a little bit! Ever think of that, Hakuba?" Kaito all but growled out, trying to pry the other's hands off of him.

"The first few times, yes, yes I did think of that." Hakuba said, tightening his grip on the other once more. "But not now. You've done it too often now! You always love your little 'games', making the police run in circles and competing against me and that Kudo-kun." At that name, Kaito visibly flinched. Hakuba noticed this, but filed it away to confront the boy about later. Right now, he wanted his answers about what was going on with Kaito, not about Kudo Shinichi. "Which leads me right back to my earlier question: What's going on with you?"

Kaito glared at the other defiantly, trying to think of something, anything, to say to the detective that would satisfy his curiosity. Anything but the truth, of course. Kaito thought long and hard in those few moments of tense silence between them, knowing that Hakuba wouldn't fall for any simple excuse. After a few more moments of silence, Kaito let out a long sigh, letting his head fall limp in front of him, blocking his eyes from Hakuba. The blond teen raised an eyebrow at this, not expecting Kaito to give up so soon. Hakuba actually thought he'd have to _beat_ the answers out of the thief.

"I… it's…." Kaito bit his lip, trying to find just the right words to say what he was thinking. Hakuba's grip on Kaito loosened slightly, waiting patiently for the explanation. Kaito shook his head from side to side, closing his eyes tightly. "Never mind! You wouldn't understand!" Kaito all but cried out, pulling his hands away from Hakuba's arms to his head, gripping it tightly.

"Try me." Hakuba said in a slightly gentle tone, trying to calm Kaito down, but also attempting to be firm about his demand. "I've been with you for over a year, seen you at school and at your heists. Who else could understand better than me?" he asked, honestly curious. In Hakuba's eyes, he knew the thief almost as well as Kaito did himself.

But Kaito clearly didn't see things that way, shaking his head harder, as if trying to block out the words. "No one can understand! Not even you, Hakuba! Now, let me go!" Kaito shouted, shoving Hakuba away from him. Luckily for Kaito, Hakuba had been shocked from the cry, and was easily shoved aside, Kaito being freed instantly.

Hakuba fell back onto his butt, letting out a slight grunt in pain. Kaito didn't hesitate in his escape, however, to make sure the detective was safe. The thief took off down the street, not so much as glancing back. He hadn't meant to shove Hakuba that hard, really. Kaito just needed to get out of there, before his Poker Face crumbled, and Hakuba learned everything.

"Kuroba-kun!" Hakuba shouted, reaching his arm out after the Kaitou, as if he could grab his arm and stop him. Once Kaito turned down the corner, Hakuba let out an annoyed sigh and ran his hand through his hair. Dammit. That was the second time Kaito had avoided his questions. Hakuba was going to have to try harder if he was going to get his answers. Letting out another sigh, Hakuba stood up, brushing off his pants. "Damn that thief," he mumbled as he stared in the direction Kaito had been going. "What the hell has you so scared, Kuroba-kun?" He closed his eyes and shook his head from side to side as he began to head back towards the building.

During that whole confrontation, neither boy noticed a small form watching from behind the door, gaze locked on the two teens. As soon as Hakuba began to make his way back inside, the form scrambled away before he was caught. It wouldn't do any good for Hakuba to find him eavesdropping, now would it?

Instead of going back to the other detectives, the little form ran off to the bathroom, needing time to be alone. Once inside the bathroom, he locked the door and went towards the mirror, looking at his reflection.

Conan let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair, letting all the new information wash over him. He may not have found out _what_ was going on with the Kaitou Kid, but he at least found out _who_ he was.

The shrunken detective had no doubt now that Kuroba Kaito was indeed his white clad friend. He did have his doubts at first, but after hearing that conversation, he was sure of who the Kaitou Kid really was. Kaito may have denied the accusation at the beginning, but when Hakuba stated that Kaito's attitude toward magic in school and at heists changed, Conan hadn't heard Kaito deny being the thief.

Conan let out a long and annoyed sigh, realizing that he couldn't really use this new-found information. Well, not without telling somebody about his real identity. All Conan could do now was ask Hakuba and that Aoko girl about Kaito and try and figure things out from there. Maybe even question Kaito slightly. Conan quickly shook his head to rid himself of that thought. It wouldn't work. He saw how Kaito had reacted to being questioned by Hakuba, and they were _friends_. The mini detective didn't even want to think how Kaito would act if Conan, a total stranger, were to question him.

Conan ran his hand through his hair, letting his shoulders sag in defeat. He wasn't going to figure out much else just by standing in the bathroom. So, letting out one last annoyed sigh, Conan exited the bathroom and began to head back towards the others. When he walked past the front door, however, he looked outside, a slight longing in his eyes.

What the hell had spooked Kuroba Kaito so much that it was affecting Kaitou Kid? Conan had no idea. What he did know was that he was going to find out, a shrunken detective or not.

* * *

Kaito kept running, ignoring his legs' cries for him to stop. He knew Hakuba wasn't following him, but the thief just felt he _had_ to run.

Damn that Hakuba. He should have said he was sick and avoided going with Aoko to help her dad. Kaito should have known that Hakuba would try and force information out of him. It had been suicide to give in so easily. Hakuba was probably going to be more relentless about getting his answers after the way Kaito had just acted. The thief had dug his own grave this time.

He should have tried harder to keep his Poker Face in check and not let Hakuba see how rattled he really was. Then again, Kaito was up against a wall, figuratively and physically, and he couldn't take much more. First Aoko showed up and gave him two choices, tell her what was going on, or help her farther out with the Kaitou Kid problem. Then there was that chibi and his damn eyes. Kaito's heart still panged with guilt at the thought of them. Conan's eyes were the exact same shade of blue, and were even filled with that same never ending curiosity that Shinichi had had. Kaito choked back a sob. No. He refused to think about the soccer loving detective any longer.

So naturally after both Aoko and that damn kid's gaze, Kaito felt his emotions couldn't take much more. Add in the realization that Hakuba was worried about him, not just as a thief, and Kaito was ready to blow. Today was just going from bad to worse.

Kaito finally gave in to his legs' pleas and stopped running. He doubled over and panted heavily, trying to fill his lungs with air. Continuing to pant, Kaito lifted his head and looked around his surroundings. Indigo eyes blinked as Kaito realized he was standing outside his house. He felt his shoulders slump and a content sigh escaped his lips. He was finally home and he could be alone. No Aoko threatening him, no Hakuba grilling him for answers, and no damn all seeing eyes burrowing into his soul. He could finally let his Poker Face fall, if only for a few moments.

After fully catching his breath, Kaito began to make his way towards his front door, and pulled out his key (the keychain being Kaitou Kid's "symbol"). Once in the house, Kaito let out another sigh, just about to kick off his shoes and grab a bite to eat. But before the thief could, a voice interrupted him, stopping him mid motion.

"Glad you finally made it home, Kuroba Kaito." A sly voice said, coming from a few feet away from Kaito. As soon as Kaito heard that voice, he froze, not even daring to breathe. Oh god, not him, anyone but him. "Now is that anyway to greet a guest, Kuroba?" Kaito could almost hear the smirk in the other's lips, but he didn't dare look. The other noticed this, and Kaito felt the eyes on him turn into a glare. "Look at me, boy." The voice said sternly, leaving no place for argument. Kaito's face slowly turned toward his so called guest, eyes as wide as they could go. Indigo eyes met cold black eyes as Kaito just stared at the other, shock and fear holding him in place.

Looks like things has gone from bad, to worse, to horrible, in the course of a few hours.

Kaito _really_ hated today.

* * *

**A/N**: Oh I'm so mean xP Poor Kai-chan! Oh well XP If I wasn't mean to him, there wouldn't be a fic, no would there? Anyways! Now Conan knows who Kaitou Kid is! What shall he do with this information? :O Wait and find out! XD And ooooh~ :O Who is this meanie making Kaito's day worse? Like hell I'm telling you XD Least not yet :3

Review please! :D You know you wanna! And if you don't Kaitou Kid will take your interwebs! 83

~Angel~


	5. Old Routine

_Anonymous Review Replies: _

_Lizard: You're welcome for updating :3 Thanks for reading! :D Here's the update you've been waiting for!_

_E-chan: You're very welcome for the HakuKai undertones ;D I swear my fangirl side that loves that pairing is rearing its ugly head in this fic XD Gonna have to fix that. And indeed you shall have to wait 83 hehe~ I'm not gonna tell~ Lmao rambling XD It's okay. I do that… a lot too XP Here's your update :D_

**A/N:** Yeah yeah I'm aware it's late. But I actually have an excuse! :O Christmas day, I went to write a little bit (seeing as how my older brother took up the TV so I couldn't play Epic Mickey –grumbles-) Only for, you guessed it! :D My oh so loyal laptop to inform me that File 34 was either missing or corrupt! -.-; Omg I wanted to kill something with fire. It wasn't so much my laptop dying, but my WRITING almost went with it! I don't keep things backed up –sweatdrop- So I thought I had lost EVERYTHING. Fics, school work, and personal writing. But lucky for me (and the lot of you :D) My friend Steven was able to save my writing and yoink it from my shit hard drive. Though I had to wait until I got a new laptop to be able to update anything or write. I would have gone the 26 but of FUCKING COURSE there was a blizzard planned for that night -.-;; So instead I fleed to a friends house instead of being stuck at home with no laptop :P

Anyways! XD I'll let you guys get to reading this bitch. You've been patient enough for it :P Though I must warn you D: My lovely Dai-chan doesn't seem to be online at the moment. She did beta this for me a while ago, but I like her to beta it just before I post it too, you know? I reread it myself just now, but alas I am not as good as her D: So I apologize for any mistakes you may find. Anyways! Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 4: Old Routine **

Police sirens rang out through the night, steadily getting farther and farther away from the crowd that surrounded the museum. Tonight was an interesting night indeed. Kaitou Kid had sent out a riddle the afternoon before, causing Nakamori's blood pressure to raise through the roof, seeing as how he had to deal with Kid two days in a row.

Some fans were skeptical about coming, still disappointed from last night's lack of performance. No one could be too sure anymore if Kaito would actually do a magic show, instead of just taking the item he wished for. His performance heists were few and far between, so some fans had given up on seeing the thief perform.

Tonight, however, those who still stuck around to watch Kaito do his work were rewarded greatly.

It was like Kaito had never changed his routine performances in the last few months, and things were finally back to normal. Kaito clearly felt the need to go overboard tonight, seeing as how every single last Task Force officer was trapped in _some_ kind of trick the thief had thought up. Some of the officers had somehow ended up in bright pink pig suits, other's in maid outfits and sailor suits (hidden cameras everywhere, might I add). And some of the officers, those poor unfortunate souls, had somehow been stripped down, and were now currently wearing pink and purple cheerleading outfits, pompoms included.

Kaito's sides were just about to split as he ran up the stairs, his laughter filling the entire building. Oh _god._ He hasn't laughed this hard in _forever_. These were probably some of his best ideas yet. And he hadn't even gotten to Nakamori-keibu and Hakuba yet. Kaito's wide and joyous smile turned into a mischievous smirk. Oh the fun was just beginning.

As Kaito turned a corner on the stairwell, he stopped short, seeing Hakuba standing a few steps above him. Hakuba had a wide smirk on his lips, amusement lighting up his features. Kaito had trouble hiding his prideful smirk behind his Poker Face. It had been a long time since the thief had seen that look in Hakuba's eyes. There were no all-seeing eyes that detected every small thing he did, not the flaming determination that burned to know what was going on in Kaito's head. There was just a highly amused Hakuba, trying to capture the thief and _prove_ to _everyone_ that it was Kuroba Kaito under that damn monocle.

Ah. Things were right with the world.

"Ah! Tantei-san! To what do I owe this honor?" Kaito said, bowing slightly towards the detective. The thief stood back up just in time to see Hakuba's lips twitching, trying to form a small smile. "I would have thought that you would have gone back to England by now."

"I'm not going anywhere until I unmask you, Kaitou Kid." Hakuba said, taking a step down the stairs. "And I plan on doing just that right now." Kaito smirked as Hakuba took another step downward. This was almost too easy.

But before Kaito's plan could be put into action, a cry of pain echoed from behind the thief, causing both boys to whip around in the direction Kaito had just come from. There, lying on the floor was Nakamori-keibu, panting heavily.

"T-there you are, K-Kaitou Kid," Nakamori said, slowly bringing himself to his feet. Kaito tugged his hat down slightly, that smirk still firmly in place. "Tonight is the night I see you behind bars!"

"I don't think so, Nakamori-keibu. And I don't see you unmasking me tonight, Tantei-san. You've both fallen into my trap~" Hakuba blinked as he stared at the other in confusion, but quickly regained his composure and a cocky smirk appeared on his lips.

"I don't see that happening, Kaito. We have you surrounded, and you have no windows to escape from on that glider or yours. You're the one that's cornered." Simultaneously, Nakamori-keibu took a step up, and Hakuba took a step down.

Perfect.

Just then, a cloud of smoke erupted from around both men, encasing them. Cries of surprise rang out from both Hakuba and Nakamori-keibu, causing Kaito to chuckle, his smirk growing. Once the smoke cleared, Kaito looked in Hakuba's direction.

The blond detective was looking himself over, shock replacing that cocky demeanor he had just moments ago. The blond now had on a shoulder length wig, the British flag design printed on the fake hair. But it wasn't the wig that had caused Hakuba to stare down at himself in shock, it was what he was wearing on his body. Instead of his usual overcoat, he was now wearing what appeared to be bright purple wizard robs that went all the way to the floor. Hakuba's eyes traveled toward his hand, finding a wooden wand in the palm of his hand.

Letting out a noise of amusement, Kaito turned his attention back to Nakamori-keibu, who was staring down at his outfit in pure surprise and embarrassment. Kaito had to hold back a laugh as he gazed at the older man, the sight being better than the thief could have ever imagined.

Nakamori was in a bright pink prom dress, ruffles covering a majority of his waist and upper thigh and rhinestones decorating the top half. The dress was just long enough to cover everything, but just short enough that everyone could see Nakamori's bare hairy legs. Glitter covered Nakamori's hair, mustache and cheeks, pink eye liner over his eyes and pink lip stick on his lips. On Nakamori's feet were gold two inch heels, causing the detective to wobble a little, the man never having had experience with heels before.

Kaito finally let out a loud chuckle, catching the attention of both men. "Well, I'll leave you gentlemen to your business then. You, Tantei-san," Kaito glanced at Hakuba, his monocle glaring slightly. "Have a class to go teach, ne, Professor?" Kaito smirked at the glare he received before turning back to Nakamori, who was trying to pull down the dress as much as he could. "As for you Nakamori-keibu, I do believe you have a hot date. I'll let you two get to your plans. Ja ne!" Kaito said, jumping over Hakuba's head and dashing up the stairs, laughing at the cries of annoyance coming from the detectives behind him.

Yup. Thing's were definitely back to normal.

Soon Kaito reached the roof, pulling out the green gem he had just stolen and held it up in front of him. The moonlight hit the stone, causing a green glow to hit the Phantom Thief. Kaito let out a long sigh. He hadn't needed to do that, but old habits die hard. The thief pocketed the gem before looking up at the moon, a slight grin on his lips. Time to end his show with a grand exit.

But before he could do that, the doors to the roof slammed open, loud footsteps echoing all around the area. Kaito chuckled to himself, not turning around just yet. He held out his arms, still gazing at the moon, his lips tugging into a small grin. Looks like someone got out of one of his little pranks.

"Might I ask who got free of my traps so fast? Tantei-san perhaps? Nakamori-keibu?" Kaito asked, still not facing the new comer. "But I highly doubt it's Nakamori-keibu. I don't think he could run in heels _that_ fast. At least not without practice, of course." There was a short pause before the new comer said anything.

"Neither one, Kid," a childish voice said. Kaito's eyes widened as he turned on a heel, staring down at the small form of Edogawa Conan. Seeing those eyes again caused pain to flood out from Kaito's heart. He hated those damn eyes. "Are you so cocky that you think only two detectives can catch you?" Conan asked, smirking slightly as he walked closer to the thief.

Kaito quickly regained his composure, smirking slightly as he looked down at the other. "Iie iie. Tantei-san is just one out of two detectives that actually give me a challenge anymore. As for Nakamori-keibu…" Kaito smirked slightly, amusement flashing in his eyes. "Well, he is still fun in my games, but definitely not as much as Tantei-san." Conan nodded thoughtfully, before looking off to the side, his face going blank for a few moments.

"You said there were two detectives that could challenge you, Kid?" Kaito nodded, pulling his hat down slightly. "If Nakamori-keibu isn't that much of a challenge for you, than who's the second detective you mentioned a moment ago?" Conan had an idea of who the second detective was, but he just had to make sure. Kaitou Kid could have just been flattering Shinichi when he said Shinichi was the only one who gave the thief a challenge anymore.

The reaction Conan got wasn't what he expected, however. Instead of that cocky and amused smirk appearing on Kaito's lips, the other looked off to the side, pulling his hat down to try and cover his eyes as best he could. Conan raised an eyebrow at the others actions, wondering why the other suddenly looked hurt.

But before Conan could ponder the issue any longer, Kaito was looking back at him, a wide grin masking the pain. Conan furrowed his brow, looking right into the other's eyes. The mini detective could still clearly see pain in those indigo orbs, despite the wide grin on the thief's face. Why would Kaito be hurt by such an innocent question?

"Now why is a kid such as yourself out so late and without his Kaa-san?" Kaito asked, quickly changing the subject. Conan's face went from one of curiosity to one of annoyance. Really? Kaito was going to treat him like a kid too? God dammit. Oh well. Once Conan proved that he wasn't just some kid, Kaito would treat him differently.

"I'm not just some kid, Kaitou Kid." Conan said, glaring at the thief still. "I'm a detective, and a good one at that." Kaito raised an eyebrow at this, smirking slightly.

"Well, it looks like we have a Chibi-tantei." Kaito said, still smirking. Conan's glare intensified as he stared at Kaito.

_I liked it better when he called me Tantei-kun._ Conan thought, still glaring. _I may look like a chibi but I'm still smarter than you, Kid._

"Ne, Kid," Conan said, putting his hands into his pockets and looking up at Kaito with a slightly cocky grin on his face. "Appearances can be deceiving. You can't always trust your eyes to tell you certain things. You have to trust your mind's eyes, too." Kaito raised an eyebrow, curiosity replacing his arrogant appearance.

"So what? You're saying you're not just some annoying little chibi?" He asked, shifting his weight to one foot.

"Ne, I wonder." Conan said, looking down and closing his eyes as he pulled one hand out of his pocket. Kaito's eyes widened as he noticed there was a gun in Conan's hand. But before Kaito could say anything, Conan fired the gun, into the air, and a moment later, there was a bright light in the sky. Kaito shielded his eyes from the flash, not having expected a flare gun. Kaito then looked up at Conan, shock clear on his face. "You're trapped, Kid." Conan declared, looking back up at Kid, smirk still in place. "That flare just alerted all of the Task Force. There's no where to run."

As soon as Conan finished speaking, a helicopter flew up behind the thief, causing his white cape to blow around wildly. Kaito looked over his shoulder at the chopper, cursing under his breath. Damn. He couldn't use his glider to escape. Kaito's head whipped around, about to run past Conan down the stairs he came from, but there was already a large group of Task Force members, now free of all costumes.

"Ah ha! Finally caught you, Kid!" Nakamori's voice ran out from the back of the group. The officers moved to the side, letting their still pink clad leader walk up to the front. About half way to the front, Nakamori stumbled a bit, having trouble with the heels. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Kaito chuckled lowly. Nakamori in high heels would forever be funny. "Nowhere to run!"

"Ah, you say that now, Nakamori-keibu," Kaito said, putting one hand into his pocket. "But as they say: the show must go on!" Kaito then pulled his hand out of his pocket, a smoke bomb in his grasp. He threw the ball down onto the ground, it exploded on impact and encased the thief in smoke. The helicopter, which had still been behind Kaito, caused some of the smoke to blow towards the Task Force, taking away the officers' sight and making them cough slightly.

After a few moments, the smoke cleared, and all the officers stopped coughing. Nakamori looked up to where Kaito was, only to let out a sound of annoyance and anger. "Damn that Kaitou Kid! He got away again!" Nakamori stomped down on the ground in anger, causing one of his heels to break, making him tumble over onto a near by officer. "Quick! Go see if he scaled down the wall! Check the perimeter!" the inspector ordered. The officers nodded and began to file down the stairs.

Conan was looking around the roof, trying to see if the Kaitou was only hiding somewhere. When the mini detectives eyes landed on a certain officer, his eyes widened in disbelief. The officer felt eyes on him and looked over at Conan, smirking slightly. Before the officer walked down the stairs, he winked at Conan, the smirk on his lips turning mischievous.

The shrunken detective cursed under his breath and ran over to the doors, about to shout out after the officer. But once he got to the doors entrance, all traces of that officer were gone.

God damn that stupid thief!

* * *

**A/N** And there you have it! :3 Hope the humor in this chapter made up for the slight lateness! So Katio's back to playing a little! :O How long will that last? xD And oooh~ Conan's all mad! XD

Oh! :O Before I forget! I have a (possible) One shot coming up soon! XD Naturally it's KaiShinny goodness! :3 So keep an eye out!

Anyways I hope you all enjoyed! ^.^ I hope to see you all in two weeks! :D Don't forget to review! …Please? D: You know you wanna~~

~Angel~


	6. Suffering

_Anonymous Review Replies:_

_Lizard: ;D Yup~ He is up to his old tricks again, much to Conan's annoyance XD Here's that update you were waiting for ;)_

_E-chan: Oh dear god I am too x_x I'm not even gonna lie, I was like so close to crying when I thought I'd lost it all Dx The anime and pictures I could live without. But the writing omg DX There's so much of it. Luckily my techie friend got it so hurrah! :D My spazzing aside, I know right? xD I had so much fun writing that chapter~ I kept having to go back and fix things because I get getting evil ideas for my little thief to do XD And yes D: Poor Kai-chan had to be reminded of his Shin-chan when he was having fun. No good Conan! Anyways here's your update 8D And I'm glad it made you feel better! Hope you got over your fever quickly! D:_

**A/N:** Happy New Year my loyal readers! 8D Hope you all had a fun night last week~ I know I did ;) All night movie marathons are win. You know, until dawn starts to come and you end up falling asleep on your beta ^^;; Poor Dai-chan was stuck with me using her as a pillow for half an hour –sweatdrop- Well that's what she gets for being comfy dammit. ~.~ Anyways! 8D I know all of you wanna read this bitch, so shall I just shut up and let you read?

Nah! 8D Oh fine oh fine :P I'll be nice…ish. I should inform you all…again. My wonderful Dai-chan isn't feeling to well at the moment D: So this chapter may have a few typos and fails and what not. I think I got them all but eh who knows. Enjoy the chapters, ladies and gentlemen! 8D

**Disclaimer:** Nopie nope~ I don't own Detective Conan or any of it's rights. I don't even own my interwebs that lets me post stuff because Kaito keeps stealing it -.-;

* * *

**Chapter 5: Suffering **

He hated that kid. He positively _hated_ that stupid Chibi-tantei. Why? Why the hell did he have to keep popping up everywhere Kaito went all of a sudden? Kaito wouldn't have minded the damn kid so much, he might even pose an excellent challenge for the thief, if it wasn't for those god damn eyes!

They were so much like Shinichi's that Kaito wanted to cry every time he saw them. It was bad enough that he had started to see his Tantei-kun's orbs whenever Kaito closed his own eyes, but now to see them on an actual person? It was too much. As soon as Kaito had noticed that it was Conan standing on the roof, and not Nakamori or Hakuba, he had wanted to scream.

Eyes like that didn't belong on some stupid brat! They only belonged to Shinichi! His Shinichi!

Kaito choked down a sob as he curled up into a tighter ball, as if trying to keep the pain away. As soon as he had gotten back from his heist, he had thrown the gem onto his desk table, and stripped down to his boxers, quickly finding pajama pants and a t-shirt, and curled up into a ball on his bed. Usually Kaito would have stuck around after he had hidden himself in the crowd, but he had just needed to get away.

Get away from that devil Edogawa Conan.

Tonight was supposed to be a night where he didn't have to think about Shinichi, or anything else for that matter. Just himself, Tantei-san, Nakamori-keibu, and his heist in general. It had been a long time since Kaito had been able to do that, and he had planned on enjoying every last second of it. There should have been no thoughts of regret, of pain, or of how truly fucked up his life had become.

But those damn eyes had ruined all of that, and reality came crashing down around Kaito. It just wasn't fair. He was supposed to have a night off from everything and just _enjoy_ his heist, his life as Kuroba Kaito put on hold for a few hours while Kaitou Kid performed for his fans.

Then Conan had showed up, and Kuroba Kaito's life threw itself into Kaitou Kid's existence once again, and all his anxieties and anguish came with it. All with the presence of one boy and his damn blue eyes.

Things had only gone from horrible, to cruel ever since yesterday afternoon since he arrived home.

Kaito closed his eyes tighter, going back to the afternoon before, just before he had sent out his riddle to the police. To when this whole damn mess of a night started.

"_Look at me, boy." The voice said sternly, leaving no place for argument. Kaito's face slowly turned toward his so called guest, eyes as wide as they could go. Indigo eyes met cold black eyes as Kaito just stared at the other, shock and fear holding him in place. The owner of the eyes smirked when he saw the fear in Kaito's eyes. Good. Fear made people do everything they were told to do._

"_S…Snake-san…" Kaito said slowly, his voice trembling with uncertainty. Before Kaito even had a chance to process what was happening, Snake had his hand wrapped around the thief's neck and knocked him painfully against the door. Kaito let out a choking noise, whimpering as Snake tightened his grip around his throat, almost cutting off all air for the Kaitou._

"_That's Snake-sama to you, you damn brat!" Snake said, rage flashing in his eyes. Kaito nodded weakly, not able to do much else. Snake loosened his grip on the others throat slightly, letting the other gasp for breath._

"_G-gomen, S-Snake-sama…" Kaito said, coughing slightly. "I-it won't h-happen again…" a look of satisfaction crossed Snake's features, glad the other complied so quickly. A low chuckle erupted from Snake's throat as he looked down and shook his head from side to side, causing Kaito to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Might I ask w-what's so funny, Snake-sama…?" Kaito asked slowly, hoping to any entity that would listen that he wouldn't get hurt again._

_Someone out there must have heard him, as Snake quickly stopped chuckling and looked back up at Kaito, a smirk still playing on the hit mans lips. "It is none of your concern, Kuroba Kaito. But let's cut to the chase, shall we? My presence is needed elsewhere, so I'd much rather get this over with as quickly as possible." Kaito nodded meekly, a mix of curiosity and fear flashing in his eyes. What did the Black Organization want with him now?_

"_W-what is it you need now, Snake-sama?" Kaito asked, trying to keep the bitter tone out of his voice. He hated being forced to do "jobs" for these bastards. He just wanted to get whatever Snake had for him over with._

"_The higher ups feel that the police are getting a little too… suspicious about Kaitou Kid's change in routine, you see." Snake began, looking off to the side and away from Kaito. Kaito raised an eyebrow, even more confused now. "So, they've decided to give you a day off, of sorts." Snake finished, looking back at the thief. Kaito blinked a few times, now fully confused._

"_A…day off?" Kaito asked, voicing his questions. Snake nodded, that small smirk back on his lips._

"_Yes, a day off. The higher ups want you to steal a gem, some random gem that couldn't possibly be Pandora, and do one of those stupid performances of yours." Kaito had to hold back an eye roll at that. Like hell his heists were stupid. "You know, mess around with that stupid Task Force, entertain the crowd of people and what not. That way, the police won't be as suspicious and they'll stop trying to figure out why you changed, and focus more on trying to find out who you are." Kaito nodded once again. It made sense, kinda._

"_So… when do they want me to steal this random gem?" Kaito asked, already trying to come up with some riddles he could send to Nakamori. A glint flashed across Snake's eyes, one that Kaito didn't like in the least._

"_Tomorrow night." Snake replied. Kaito's eyes widened, shock taking over the fear in his indigo orbs._

"_T-tomorrow?" He almost shouted, outraged. He couldn't come up with all the things he needed in that time. "I can't plan that fast! I need at least two days to-" Kaito was cut off, however, as Snake pulled Kaito closer to him, and then shoved the boy back against the door, harder then before. Kaito let out a cry of pain, stars dancing around his vision. Once those stars disappeared, however, Kaito looked up to see Snake glaring down at him with hatred. Kaito flinched slightly, wanting to run away from that gaze with every fiber of his being._

"_You will be ready by tomorrow, or else." Snake spat, venom pouring out of his mouth. The hatred in the hit man's eyes turned into an evil glint, his frown turning into a smirk. Kaito didn't like that change in expression one bit, wanting the hatred instead of the evil in the others eyes. The thief had a feeling of what the other was about to say. "Unless you want someone else to get hurt? And I'm pretty sure you don't want that do you, Kuroba Kaito?" Snake almost burst out laughing when he saw Kaito's eyes widen immensely. Kaito shook his head vigorously, not trusting his voice at the moment. Snakes' smirk grew. "So you'll be ready by tomorrow night then?" he asked. Kaito nodded quickly, his eyes still wide. "Good. We'll be watching. Keep that in mind." And with that, Snake banged Kaito's head against the door once more, before dropping the teen to the ground roughly._

_Kaito groaned in pain as he held his head, doing his best not to pass out. After a few moments of pain, Kaito weakly looked up, glad to see that Snake had already left. He let out a sigh as he sat up and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes._

_The thief had no idea how he was going to come up with everything in about twenty four hours. Heists weren't easy to plan. He needed to come up with a good riddle, plans on tricking the Task Force, get his gadgets all set up and so on. He'd have to do all of that quickly, however. He didn't want anyone else to get hurt like _he_ had. Kaito would grin and bear this torture, if it meant everyone he held dear was safe._

_He wouldn't let anyone suffer the same fate that his Tantei-kun had. _

Kaito choked back another sob as he sat up, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hands. "This whole situation sucks." Kaito said, sniffling slightly as he flopped down onto his bed, stretching a bit. He looked up at his ceiling, a sad look in his indigo orbs. "But I'm going to have to suck it up just a little longer. I can't break my "no one gets hurt" rule again. I refuse to let that happen." A sigh escaped his lips as he closed his eyes, about ready to sleep for the night.

But before Kaito could get to comfortable, a voice, so quiet he barely heard it, rang out around his room.

_I was hoping you would say something like that, Kid._

Kaito shot up, his eyes widen and his face pale. The thief looked around the room, trying to find the source of the voice. Seeing no one in sight, Kaito let out a long sigh as he shifted his legs, letting them hit the floor. Kaito stood up and made his way over to the desk, running a hand through his messy hair.

"I must be more tired than I thought." Kaito muttered, stifling a yawn. Once at the desk, Kaito looked down at the prize for the night. The green gem gleamed up at Kaito, as if mocking him slightly. Kaito let out a sigh and leaned against his desk chair, staring at the gem with slight annoyance. "I wish you _were_ Pandora, so that I could destroy you and this whole thing would be over. Too bad you're not." Kaito sighed once more, standing up straight. "Guess I'll return you to Nakamori-keibu in the morning." Kaito turned around, and began to make his way back towards his bed.

_Not shiny enough for you, Kid?_

Kaito stopped dead in his tracks and looked over his shoulder, a small sad smile on his lips as his eyes landed on the stolen gem. "Yeah… I guess it's not…" Kaito let out a long, tired sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "I really am tired. I need some serious sleep." Kaito quickly walked to his bed, got under his covers and turned off his lamp.

He was ready for this damn night to be over already.

* * *

**A/N:** Poor Kai-chan! D: Meanie ol Snake being a buttface! So there you have it :P Sorry it's still sort of shortish, but there's nothing really else to add XP They get longer later in the story though… I think…. ^^;; Either way :P Hope you all enjoyed this and that it was worth the wait! And eh sorry it's one giant flashback ^^; It was needed~

See you all in a few weeks! 8D Don't forget to review~ :3 it makes writers all happy and what not inside! ^.^

~Angel~


	7. Questions and Answers

_Anonymous Review replies:_

_Lizard: Oh that's totally okay :P I don't mind the lateness! The fact that you reviewed at all makes me happy :D Here's your update!_

_Mushroom-chan: Oh no! I don't mind at all! :3 thank you for taking up review space! And I'm glad you like my stories! :3 And thanks for reviewing my other KaiShin! XD They are realllly adorable. And lmao! Those damn butterflies must be pretty tired, no? XD Thanks for reviewing and here's your chapter!_

**A/N:** Woo! ;D Miss me yet? No? GOOD 8D Some of you noticed I posted that two shot I promised :P Finally got that bitch finished and edited by my beta XD And finally! :O I snagged Dai-chan long enough to get some editing done! XD so there shouldn't be any fails in this chapter grammar wise. …-sweatdrop- then again Dai-chan had Fairly Odd Parents on in the background and her kitty was hyper so… She was a little distracted XD But oh well :P Here's your long awaited chapter!

**Disclaimer: **-checks papers- Nope Dx I own nothing!

**Chapter 6: Questions and Answers

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**

Conan was beyond annoyed by this point in time. Before he was only slightly annoyed with how people tread him because of his appearance.

Now he was about ready to hurt someone. After Conan had failed to catch Kaito, _again_, the mini detective had decided to question Nakamori-keibu, Hakuba and Aoko about the Kaitou, as well as ask about the troubled Magician.

But before he had gone to them, Conan first went to Kogorou, to see what he thought about the situation. It seemed like a dumb idea, but Nakamori told Kogorou things that he didn't mention in Conan's presence, and Conan wanted to know what those things were.

Naturally, Kogorou had out right refused, saying something like "Why in the hell would I tell a damn kid what Nakamori only wanted to tell me? Dumb brat!"

Conan would have tried harder to get information, knowing full well that he could have gotten it, but getting important information out of a drunken Kogorou was like drawing blood from a brick wall.

So, Conan decided to wait and question Kogorou on what Nakamori told him later, opting to go over some things in his head in the mean time. Like last night's Kid heist, for example.

Conan was still very curious about what had caused Kaito to get such a look of pure unguarded hurt on his face when Conan had asked about Shinichi. It's not like he was dead or anything like that. Shinichi was just… in a very complicated situation right now. Then again…

Kaito didn't know that, did he?

It had been a few months since Shinichi had been to a Kid heist, and there was no other way that Kaito could have seen Shinichi. And with Shinichi's line of work, it wouldn't be unlikely that he would be harmed in some way. So it was only natural that Kaito would assume the worst.

But why would Kaitou Kid be so hurt at the thought of Shinichi dying? Did the thief really care that deeply for Shinichi?

Conan's heart skipped a beat at the thought, a small rosy color appearing on his cheeks.

Kaito was this concerned about Shinichi's well being, even though they were rivals, one a thief and the other a detective? It was kind of… flattering, if Conan was being truly honest with himself.

Conan couldn't help the fond smile that slowly made its way onto his lips as he thought about Kaito worrying about him. It was a little cruel, smiling at Kaito's worry, but Conan couldn't help it. Knowing that Kaito was so worried about Shinichi being dead that it was shown clearly on his face, even with Kaito's poker face on, made Conan happier than it should have.

There was a slight flutter in Conan's stomach the more he thought about Kaito being worried about Shinichi. To Conan, this worry meant that he wasn't just another challenge to Kaito, that what they had, as weird as it was, actually meant something to the thief. That thought caused Conan's stomach to flutter more, as well as his heart to pound even harder against his chest.

However, the flutter quickly turned into a knot, as guilt suddenly flooded into Conan. The thief was clearly pained about Shinichi's disappearance, and Conan didn't like that one bit.

Now that he thought about it, the mini detective had had a sudden urge to go up and hug the thief as soon as he saw the pain in his eyes. Conan had wanted so badly to make that look of complete and utter hurt change to the carefree and playful look the thief usually had. Mischief suited the thief much better than sadness, in Conan's opinion.

Before Conan could continue on that train of thought, though, a loud bang was heard from down stairs. Conan raised an eyebrow and glanced at his closed door in confusion. What the hell was going on down there?

"Uh… Conan-kun?" Ran's voice echoed throughout the house, causing Conan to blink in confusion. "Someone's here to see you…" Ran sounded unsure, making Conan even more confused. The mini detective got up from where he had been sitting and made his way to the door, opening it and stepping out into the hallway.

"Coming Ran-neechan!" he called, rushing down the stairs. He had to see what the hell was going on.

"Why did you call that little brat, Ran?" Kogorou's drunken voice yelled. "S'not like he'll be able to do anything! He's just a kid!" Conan's eyebrow twitched at this, having a faint idea why there had been a bang earlier. Kogorou was still drunk, and he must have gotten annoyed by whoever was visiting.

_I'm more of a help than you are when you're sober._ Conan thought, finally reaching the bottom of the stairs. _Never mind while you're like this. _

"Who's here, Ran-neechan?" Conan voiced, ignoring the glares from Kogorou as he walked passed the drunken man. Once Conan reached the front door, he stopped walking and stared at their guest, his eyebrow rising in slight surprise. "Hakuba-san? What are you doing here?"

The British detective smiled, looking down at the mini detective. "We didn't get a chance to talk as much as I would have liked the last time I saw you, Edogawa-kun." Hakuba said, still smiling. "So I was hoping that we could discuss the Kaitou Kid issue." Before Conan could reply, however, a loud bang echoed out behind the detectives, causing both of them to turn in surprise at the noise.

Kogorou stood a few feet away from the duo, a fisted hand resting against the wall. He was glaring heatedly at the two younger detectives, a bottle of sake in his hand. "Why the hell do you want to talk to the brat about that damn thief? I'm the one with more experience and know more than some stupid child!" the drunken man claimed, swaying slightly. Hakuba's look of surprise turned into a venomous smile, one that caused even Conan to shudder in fear.

"Well, Mouri-Tantei," Hakuba began, his polite tone sounding a little bitter. "Edogawa-kun is the only _competent_ and _useful_ detective here right now. Where as you're completely drunk, and would be useless in this investigation." Conan tried as hard as he could not to snicker. Not only had Hakuba acknowledged Conan as a detective instead of a boy, but he had insulted Kogorou while he was at it. Conan could just tell he was going to like the blond.

Kogorou's face turned bright red, whether it was from the sake or from anger, neither young detective could tell. He opened his mouth to yell at them, but something smacked him on top of the head, and he fell forward, unconscious. Hakuba and Conan blinked, looking up from the unconscious form to see Ran standing behind her father's body, one hand out in a karate chop.

"Humph! Stupid loud drunk!" She said, crossing her arms over her chest, glaring at her father. She turned an apologetic smile onto Conan and Hakuba, ignoring her father completely now. "Sorry you had to see that, Hakuba-kun. Ignore him. I think I'll go hide some of his sake while he's out…" She muttered, making her way into the kitchen. Conan smirked as he watched Ran go, enjoying Kogorou's torture.

_What you get for treating me like a kid, baro_. Conan thought, as he made his way up the stairs, expecting Hakuba to follow, which he did.

Once the two detectives were in Conan's room, the mini detective closed the door, letting out a sigh as he sat on his futon, looking up at Hakuba.

"Well… what did you want to talk about, exactly?" he asked bluntly. No point in beating around the bush.

"You were at the last Kaitou Kid heist, correct?" Hakuba asked. When he got a nod from the mini detective, he continued. "Well, that was by far the most normal heist Kid's had in a while. Normal for him, anyways." Conan blinked in confusion.

"What do you mean, Hakuba-san?" He asked. Hakuba sighed and looked off to the side, out the window.

"Well, a while ago, Kaitou Kid started doing his… performances less and less, and opted for doing his thefts quietly." Hakuba said, trying to find just the right words to describe what Kaito had been doing. "You saw Kaito's tricks last night." It wasn't a question, so Conan didn't bother replying. Instead, the boy held back his laughter, remembering what Hakuba looked like after Kaito had been done with his pranks. "For a lot of his heists, he stopped doing all tricks like that. He'd send out a note, the time would come, and the gem would just… disappear. No matter how good the security, Kid got what he wanted." Hakuba sighed again and ran a hand through his blond hair.

"But that doesn't sound that out of the ordinary." Conan said, tilting his head in confusion. "Kaito always manages to get what he wants in the end." Hakuba shook his head, his gaze going to the floor in thought.

"Not ordinary in this way." He said. "There's usually some flash at the time, some way that just shows everyone that Kaito has arrived, a grand entrance, if you will. But these ones, Nakamori and the Task Force look away for evena second, and the gem's gone. No pink streamers, not jokes, pranks, nothing. The. Item. Is. Just. Gone." Hakuba furrowed his brow, his gaze still on the ground. "And those are the more normal ones. His more common heists now are he just steals the item, and leaves a note once he's gone, so no one knows he was there till it's too late."

"But that doesn't matter now, right?" Conan asked. "Kaito's heist last night was just like his old ones, pranks and all. He's back to normal, isn't he?" Hakuba shook his head sadly, closing his eyes for just one moment before opening them again.

"Not even close, Edogawa-kun." The blond detective said somberly. "That's what I thought the first time this happened. Every now and then, Kaito puts on his usual performance heist one night, then it's back to the snag and run the next. I have no idea what that idiot's thinking." Hakuba sighed again, furrowing his brows more so than before. Conan blinked, catching something in Hakuba's words that seemed a little off.

"Wait… you said 'items'? Don't you mean gems?" Conan asked, wondering about the others word choice. Hakuba blinked and looked up at Conan, confusion in his eyes.

"You don't know? I could have sworn I mentioned it the other day when you were in Ekoda…" Hakuba said. He shrugged his shoulders. Might as well say it anyways. "I would say gems, since that's usually what Kaito's after, but like his heist style, what he's been after has changed too. He still steals gems and returns them a few days later, but recently he's been taking odd things as well. Electronic things. Nakamori-keibu hasn't told me _what_ electronic things specifically, but that he _has_ been taking them, and _not_ returning them _at all_." Conan raised both eyebrows, his eyes going wide.

"Really? Why in the hell would he steal stuff like that?" He asked, but only received a shrug in response.

"Your guess is as good as mine. If I just knew what stuff he was taking, I might be able to get an idea on what he's trying to do with it. But Nakamori-keibu isn't budging, and all the Task Force officers are under orders not to tell anyone." Hakuba sighed in annoyance. "Damn that keibu. He doesn't think the items matter, just that they've been stolen. Idiot." Conan nodded, agreeing that Nakamori was going about that information a completely stupid way.

"Just wondering…" Conan began, catching the other detective's attention. "When did Kaito's heists start to change anyways?" the mini detective had a guess at when it happened, but he couldn't be sure. No harm in asking the blond, anyways. Hakuba thought for a moment, narrowing his eyes in thought as he pondered the answer.

"About three months ago." He finally answered, looking back at Conan. The shrunken detective nodded, keeping an indifferent look on his face. But on the inside, he was freaking out slightly. Three months? That's what he thought, but he had had his doubts. It had to be a coincidence. There was no way those two things could be related. Right? Kaito had changed drastically three months ago:

And Kudo Shinichi had turned into Edogawa Conan three months ago.

No… now that Conan thought about it, there might be a connection after all. Kaito had looked pained at the other's name. Had Shinichi's disappearance somehow affected Kaito's change? Or even caused it? Conan shook his head, putting that thought into the back of his mind for the moment. That seemed like a rather farfetched theory. But still, he'd have to think more on that later, when he was alone. He had Hakuba here, and he had questions for the other. Worrying about the timing of those two major events could wait a little longer.

"By the way, Hakuba-kun." Conan said, looking at the blond detective. "What did you and Kuroba-kun talk about the other day when you went outside?" Hakuba tensed slightly and looked out the window once more. This caused Conan's eyebrow to rise slightly. Of course he _knew_ what they talked about. He was more curious to see if Hakuba would tell him or not.

"Well…" Hakuba said slowly, obviously picking his words carefully, Conan noted. "I asked him what he thought about Kaitou Kid's escape that heist, as I said I would do. And Kaito said he couldn't be sure on how he did it. Kuroba-kun said he hadn't gone to the heist that night, claiming that he hadn't been feeling that well and had gone to bed early. I was about to question on some other magic related escapes, when his phone rang. His…" Hakuba paused, trying to think up an excuse for Kaito's sudden disappearance that day. "His mother had called him and said he needed to help her out with something at home, so he left in a rush. Sadly enough, I haven't been able to question him further since then…" Hakuba trailed off, his gaze never once turning to Conan throughout that whole explanation, much to Hakuba's chagrin.

Conan nodded, not saying anything for the moment. Clearly Hakuba didn't want to inform Conan on his suspicions on Kaito being Kaitou Kid. Conan wasn't sure if it was because Hakuba wanted to catch the thief himself, or if he was in fact protecting Kaito. With the way Hakuba had been acting the last time Conan had seen him, Conan was sure it was the second one.

"Ugh… that idiot…" Conan heard Hakuba mutter under his breath. The shrunken detective blinked a few times, looking at Hakuba in confusion.

"Eh?" he asked, tilting his head a bit. "Who's an idiot, Hakuba-san?" Hakuba looked up at the other, slight surprise in his eyes. Clearly the blond hadn't meant to say that out loud. Knowing he couldn't get away with brushing it off, Hakuba let out a sigh and allowed his shoulders to sag.

"Kuroba-kun. He hasn't been acting… right either lately." Hakuba said, choosing each word slowly. "He's usually doing magic all day during class, but recently he's barely done any." He let out a sigh as he explained, his shoulders sagging more. "And every time I ask him what's wrong, he just brushes it off, saying he's fine." Hakuba looked off to the side once more, gaining a far away look in his eyes. "…Now that I think of it… maybe someone's making that idiot do things differently…" Hakuba said so lowly, Conan wasn't sure he even heard it.

Before Conan could question Hakuba on his words, however, Hakuba's phone rang, making both boys jump slightly in surprise. Hakuba gave Conan an apologetic smile before taking out his phone and answering it.

"Moshi moshi?" Hakuba said into the receiver. Hakuba didn't say anything for a few moments, his brow furrowing in clear annoyance. "Right now? Are you completely sure?" A loud and familiar voice rang out for the detective's voice, causing him to pull the phone a good arms length away from his ear. After a few moments, Hakuba sighed and brought the phone back to his ear, smiling weakly. "Hai hai. I'll be there in a bit. On my way." Before the other person could respond, Hakuba hung up his phone and stood up. "Gomen, Edogawa-kun. That was Nakamori-keibu. He needs help with more Kaitou Kid stuff." He sighed in annoyance, his shoulders slumping as he smiled weakly at the boy. "I would take you with me, but Nakamori-keibu would throw a fit if I did. Shall we continue this later?" he asked.

"Hai." Conan said, nodding. Both boys walked out of Conan's bedroom door and down the stairs. Hakuba walked around a still passed out Kogorou, while Conan didn't even bother and walked right on top of the drunken man, a slight grin on his face. Once at the door, Hakuba opened it and waved over his shoulder at Conan. "Ja ne, Hakuba-san." Conan said, waving back.

"Ja ne, Edogawa-kun." Hakuba replied, walking away. Once he was out of sight, Conan sighed and closed the door, rubbing his temple with one hand. That conversation may have given him a few answers, but Conan still had lots of questions.

Conan began to make his way back up to his room (once more stepping on Kogorou) and closed his door, flopping down onto his bed. He had a lot to think about right now.

Damn that thief, always being on his mind now a days!

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**A/N:** This chapter lacks Kaito :P But oh look! Conan and Hakuba! 8D And some Ran but eh –not a Ran fan at all- That's all about all she does in this fic xD Don't kill me if you're a Ran fan XP And haha xD Conan doesn't know why his chest is all fluttery when he thinks of our lil magician! Silly Conan~

Anyhoo~ :O Hope you all enjoyed this new chapter! Lemme know how you liked it in a review, yes? ;D If not Imma make you shovel mah driveway! 83 –has been shoveling a good part of this week- I'm still achy from Friday ~.~

Review and me love you long time, yes? :D

~Angel~


	8. A Bit of A Break

_Anonymous Review Replies: _

_Lizard_: _And I love it when you review! ^.^ And you're gonna have to wonder a little longer, sweetie xD Won't be one for at least another two weeks :P Maybe longer~ hehe xD Here's your update!_

**A/N**: Omg! Long week was long! x_x Oh well x3 this one's off to a great start 8D Glee was amazing tonight! Yeah yeah XD I'm a gleek! Deal :P There were ZOMBIES omg! X3 Anyways imma stop before I rant. –sweatdrop- Just letting you know, Dai didn't edit this, (we were both watching the Super Bowl and well… she didn't feel like she could edit it by this point XD) And I'm half asleep. So this chapter MAY not be edited to the best of its ability. –sweatdrop- But it should be fine :P Enjoy!

Ohoh! One more thing! :O To tanteigirl69, I do apologize for confusing you last chapter (and for confusing you even more in my reply –sweatdrop-) Here's a better explaination that Dai helped me come up with as to why I use "Kaito" instead of "Kaitou" when Conan's thinking about the thief: the manga spelling of his name didn't include the character that represented the 'u', but the kanji for 'phantom thief' is much more up to the reader. This leaves us with an opportunity to clarify with point of view. In the third person point of view, it's easier to refer to him by name rather than title

…I so didn't just copy that last part of the above conversation from my skype convo with Dai –shiftyeyes-

**Disclaimer: **Nopie nope~ I don't own squat! :O Who knew?

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**Chapter 7: **A Bit of A Break

Someone up there was mocking him. That was the only thing that would explain why Conan couldn't catch a break.

After Kogorou woke up from his drunken stupor, Conan had once again tried to get some information out of him. But once again, the older detective continued to withhold information, stating that it was "none of your business, damn brat". Conan was about ready to kick Kogorou's lights out.

But that wasn't the only thing annoying Conan as of the last week.

Whenever Conan's mind brought him back to that damn thief, Conan either found Ran yelling up to him, wanting something, the Detective Boys wanting detective advice, and oh so many murder cases that _needed_ his attention.

Every time Conan was close to coming up with an idea on how to help Kaito out from whatever it was that was bothering him, something broke his concentration. The mini detective was a few interruptions short of locking himself in his room and not coming out until he had a perfect plan to get the Kaitou to confide in someone. That wasn't the only thing that Conan had been thinking about, however. The mini detective _still_ couldn't figure out why his stomach twisted, and his chest fluttered whenever he thought about the thief.

For a while, Conan thought it was excitement at the thought of chasing the thief across rooftops again. It made sense, at least to Conan. When he had been Shinichi, going to the thief's heists had always caused excitement to bubble up in the detective's chest. In fact, just thinking about all those times that Shinichi had chased Kaito, both of them engrossed in their on version of Tag, caused a wide smile to appear on Conan's lips.

Now that Conan thought about it… When he had been Shinichi, he felt those butterflies in his stomach whenever a note of Kaito's appeared in the news, stating that there would be a heist soon. Oh! That reminded Conan! Kaito had sent out a note, saying that there would be a heist tonight. A wide grin made it onto Conan's lips, restlessness radiating off of his whole body. He was just so excited! He'd get to see Kaito tonight!

Conan stopped for a second, his smile cleared off his face and his eyes getting a far away look to them. It couldn't have been only excitement… could it? Maybe there was something deeper than—

"Conan-kun! Can you come down here for a minute! I need help with something!" Conan heard Ran's voice, coming from downstairs.

Damn that Ran! He had just helped her a few minutes ago! …God dammit! He forgot where his train of thought was going! Not again!

"Conan-kun?" Ran's voice echoed throughout the house again. "Did you hear me?"

"Coming!" Conan shouted as he made his way down the stairs. Before Conan could go back to his room later he had to pick up something.

He had to get Ran a muzzle.

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Chaos.

That was the only word that could describe what was going on at Ekoda High right at this very moment. Really now. What had they all been expecting when Kuroba Kaito had basically gone into magic withdrawal for so long? It was only natural that sooner or later, his pranking needs had to be met.

It was today that said needs decided to explode out of Kaito.

Oh the doves flying out of teacher's desks, the pink and purple sheets of paper (even sheets brought in by students) and exploding chalk was just the beginning.

Kaito had done the school a favor and hidden all of the textbooks, replacing them with Naurto and Soul Eater manga (with the exception of Hakuba, who got some yaoi manga. Kaito rather enjoyed Hakuba's reaction to that when he realized what he was looking at. He literally fell out of his chair with a nosebleed. Kaito was going to mock him for _weeks_). Kaito had also taken the liberty to hang up balloons all over the school, quite literally too. Balloons were on the walls, on the floor, on kid's lockers, and even on the desks. Once said balloons popped, the poor soul that was closest to the balloon ended up with a new hair color, and a new outfit.

Kaito took great joy when he noticed that Aoko and Hakuba were one of the first few to pop a balloon. Aoko had ended up with neon purple hair, with priestess robs on. While Hakuba, oh Kaito _loved_ what happened to him, happened to get rainbow hair, with a frowny face on the back of his head, and was in a clown costume. Kaito's favorite part of the costume had to be the detective's shoes. They were bright red and squeaked every time the not blond took a step. Oh, and let's not forget that about every three minutes or so, the flower on the collar of the outfit sprayed Hakuba in the face with water.

Luckily for the rest of the students, their outfit and hair changes hadn't been as… humiliating as Hakuba's. Unless of course, you were some of the boys. Some boy's ended up with balloons that were clearly meant for girls, ending up with bright pink hair, and outfits ranging from maids clothes, to a bunny suit.

Kaito gave a slight shudder every time he saw the guy in a bunny suit. The guy's legs _seriously_ needed one hell of a waxing. If the guy hadn't already been wearing fishnet stockings Kaito would have done it for him. No matter. Kaito could live with the legs for a few more hours.

By the time lunch had rolled around, everyone, including teachers had somehow been pranked by Kaito. Said thief was sitting outside on a tree branch, watching some students looking around the school for him. Even if Kaito was in the school, they never would find him. He was, after all, wearing a costume of his own. But instead of something silly, he was in a Tuxedo Mask outfit, (what could he say? He had a thing for mysterious guys in suits.) and was wearing a mask as well. Why not participate in his own pranks and wear something silly too?

Kaito let out a chuckle as he saw a boy in a Sailor Moon outfit open up a bento box, only for peanut butter and jelly to come flying out, smacking the boy in the face. These pranks had taken a long time to do, but it was all worth it. Kaito just needed to take his mind off everything, if even for a few hours.

_You know you're going to pay heavily for this right, stupid thief?_ A voice said, coming from nowhere. Kaito grinned a mischievous grin as he pulled the binoculars away from his face, looking around the rest of the school with his naked eyes.

"Come on, Shin-Chan!" Kaito said, answering the disembodied voice. "You gotta live a little! Have some fun once in a while!" the thief let out a humorous laugh at his own words. Live a little? Yeah right.

_With the way things are going now, I don't think you'll be living much longer, Kid._ Shinichi's voice said once again. Before Kaito had a chance to answer the voice, a shriek filled his ears, making Kaito cringe.

"KAAAIIITOOOO!" Kaito almost fell out of the tree he was sitting in at the sound of Aoko's angry yell. Oh she sounded really mad. "Get your ass down here _now_! So I can kick it into next week!"

"Yeah sure I'll do that…" Kaito could feel sweat pouring down his neck as he stayed put, wishing to live a little longer before he had to meet Aoko's wrath. "She must have seen what I did to the girl's bathroom."

…_What did you do, Kid no baka?_ Shinichi's voice asked. Kaito smirked as he put his binoculars back to his eyes.

"Let's just say the plumbing miiiight have changed slightly in the school and leave it at that." He said, his smirk growing.

_Sorry I asked_.

Kaito let out a chuckle as he moved the binoculars away from his eyes once again. Kaito forgot how much he had missed all of this in the past few months, causing utter chaos and just doing what came naturally to him. This whole day was sort of a spur of the moment thing, really.

It had been a about a week after his last heist, and Kaito had only just recently heard from the Organization, learning that he would be performing a heist this week (tonight, Kaito absentmindedly remembered) and he just _needed a break_. As soon as Snake had left his house after informing him of his new job, Kaito had curled up and tried to make himself as small as possible. He _hated_ doing those bastards' dirty work, and how he couldn't do anything about it. The thief had felt he would break, shatter under all of this stress if he didn't do _something_ that was familiar, something to ease his mind, if only a bit.

And thus, he had decided to do what he did best, cause utter destruction and trouble at school with his pranks. It was a nice breath of fresh air for the thief. This was exactly what he needed to do. He wondered why he hadn't done it sooner. It just felt so amazing to be doing tricks for the hell of it again, and not for some crazy psychos. If Kaito had to just about reach his breaking point to realize this, then so be it.

_I think everyone liked it better when you were quiet, Kaito_. Shinichi said, causing Kaito to grin.

"Yeah, probably. But what's life like without a little excitement? Who wants to do the same boring things day in and day out? I actually think some people missed my performances!" Kaito said, throwing his hands up into the air in a grand motion.

"Where the hell are you, BaKaito?" Aoko's angry voice rang out again, causing Kaito to cringe.

Well, maybe a select few missed them.

* * *

Glasses? Check. Strength inducing sneakers? Check. Soccer ball belt? Check. His watch?

Conan grinned.

Kaitou Kid was going to despise this watch, so naturally Conan was going to make sure he took it with him tonight. One false move and the thief would be caught, ending his fun.

Conan could already see the pout on Kid's face, as he whined about "stupid Chibi-Tantei's trying to take away all the fun". Oh it was going to be an amusing night.

He could see it now, the others indigo eyes going from sparking excitement, to possibly slight horror. Those beautiful indigo eyes that had such life, were so vibrant that Conan's heart picked up in pace at the mere thought of them.

Conan scowled as he thought about how those eyes had changed. Those indigo orbs, once radiating with animation, suddenly becoming shadowed and dark. The shrunken detective, for the life of him, couldn't figure out why Kaito's eyes looked so… so… haunted.

Oh how Conan wished he could kick away all of Kaito's demons, and make those eyes shine once more. The mini detective just wanted Kaito to let him in, let Conan help him. Was that so much to ask?

Conan sighed and let his shoulders slump, an air of sadness around him. Conan knew the answer to that: Yes, yes it was too much to ask. The thief wouldn't even let Hakuba or Aoko in. There was no way he would tell his inner most secrets to a kid like Conan. The mini detective felt pain grip his heart at the thought. It was at times like this that Conan wished he was Shinichi again. If only for a day.

Conan let out a slight cough, flopping down onto his futon. He knew he'd felt slightly off today. He'd gone over to the Professors house and quickly took his temperature, only to find out he had a slight fever. Conan decided it would be best to stay at the Professors for a little bit, lest Ran find out about his fever and make him stay home tonight during the heist.

Right at the moment, the door to Conan's room swung open, slamming against the wall. The young detective jumped a foot in the air, his eyes darting to the door to see the person who had just entered.

"Up tight as usual, ne, Kudo-kun?" Said the new comer. Conan's face went from one of shock, to one of slight annoyance, a slight cough escaping his lips.

"To what do I owe the dis-pleasurable visit, Haibara?" Conan asked, looking at the other shrunken person. Haibara smirked slightly as she looked at him, a glint in her eyes.

"Well, if you don't want my gift, I'll just take my leave…" she said, about to turn and walk away. This caught Conan's interest.

"Gift? What gift?" he asked, his eyes wide with curiosity. Haibara pulled something out of her pocket and tossed it to Conan, who easily caught it. Excitement lit up his features instantly. "Another antidote?" He asked eagerly. She nodded. "Yes! This is exactly what I needed for tonight! Thanks Haibara!" Before the girl could say anything else, Conan shoved the small pill into his mouth and swallowed.

The pill took no time at all to take affect, and Conan was clutching at his chest in pain, falling to his knees. Conan may have gotten his wish to be Shinichi for tonight's heist, but he didn't have to be happy about the pain that came with "growing up".

The shrunken detective let out a gasp of pain, his eyes wide as his grip on his shirt tightened. No matter how many times he became Conan, or Shinichi, the pain never subsided, and always left Conan in unbearable pain.

With one last pained gasp, Conan collapsed onto the floor, his world going black before his head even hit his futon.

* * *

**A/N:** Mwhahaha :3 Evil, aren't I? ;D Ending THERE of all places? :3 hehe~ Anyways! Once again, I'm sorry for the fail editing on this chapter. And if anyone sees any errors, feel free to point them out and be all "I SPOT A FAIL! FIX IT! FIX IT!" Or something like that XD I rather enjoy this chapter. It let's me play with Kaito's insanity a little bit! 8D And that's ALWAYS fun. Drop a review, please! ^.^ See you in two weeks! 8D

~Angel~


	9. Epiphany

_Anonymous Review Replies: _

_Lizard: You're very welcome 8D Hahaha yup~ He is losing what little sanity he has, seeing as how he's hearing his precious Shin-chan's voice in his head D: Poor Kai-chan! Here's your update! ;D _

_Scythe: This is an interesting chapter, if I do say so myself ;) It sets quite a few things in motion for what's to come in later chapters._

_Loo shuenpi: yesyesyes I did hurry up and update ;D Here's your chapter!_

**A/N:** Omg O_O 12 Reviews for last chapter! Woo! I love you guys! 8D Those reviews made me so happy! ^^ I was sick two weeks ago with one HELL of a bad cough/flu D: Being drugged up on cough medicine was kinda awesome though (The dreams I had! Oh god…) And of course I woke up last Sunday a STABBING pain in my neck -.-; Turns out it was a spasm from all the coughing Dx So I was in hell for two weeks. BUT 8D Your reviews made me happy and feel a little better ^^ So I'd like to thank all of you! Love you guys!

Anyways: ;D Woo! You all get to find out what happens at the heist between Shinichi and Kaito! Most of you were guessing what would happen or wondering xD Here's what you've been waiting for! And once again, D: Dai-chan is sick with a cold (or hiding… or both…) So she didn't get a chance to edit this for me today. And I wasn't about to make you guys wait longer, or make her do work while sick :P I did it myself, but I may have missed something. Lemme know if you spot anything and I shalt fix it post hast! I'll shut up now so you can read :O

**Disclaimer: **Nope Dx Me no own DC or MK.

* * *

**Chapter 8**: Epiphany

An odd laugh rang out through the museum, footsteps echoing all around as well. The thief couldn't help but laugh at the situation handed before him. It was just so… _funny_.

Surprisingly, Hakuba had set up a trap over the case of the ruby that he was going to steal. The trap had activated only just after the last Task Force member had succumbed to Kaito's pink sleeping gas. The trap had been a simple net (much like ones used to catch fish, Kaito thought with disdain) but it had caught him completely off guard. As soon as the pink smoke cleared, Hakuba had strode in, a wide grin on his lips as he looked up at the trapped thief. Luckily for Kaito, he was angled perfectly in the net, and was able to pull out his trusty card gun and shot his way out of the netting, making his escape out of the room before Hakuba had gotten too close.

Despite having almost been caught, Kaito couldn't stop laughing. The whole situation was just so funny!

Although, if someone were to ask why Kaito was laughing so hard, the thief wouldn't have been able to answer them. He had no idea _why_ almost getting caught was funny, it just was.

As soon as Kaito had escaped the netting, he began ascending the stairs and toward the roof. The Kaitou was surprised that he hadn't heard other footsteps behind him, and Hakuba's voice shouting up at him to stop. This surprised Kaito even more than that stupid fish net. Kaito had set up a trick of his own to through off his Tantei-san, a projector and a hologram of his own image running, and had expected Nakamori, when he awoke, to follow that image, not his Tantei-san.

Oh well. Kaito wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Hakuba falling for such a simple trick was a blessing, it made getting away so much easier.

As Kaito neared the roof, he realized he hadn't yet seen that Chibi-tantei with those damning eyes yet tonight. This came off as odd to the thief. Hadn't that Chibi announced that it would be him to catch Kaitou Kid? Then why hadn't he shown up yet?

Once again, Kaito wasn't complaining about his good luck. He didn't know why that annoying blue eyed beast wasn't there, and he could care less.

Another thing that struck the thief as odd was that he hadn't heard from Shinichi since the end of school that day. He had tried to talk to his Tantei-kun many times, only to get no reply. Was Shin-chan still mad about what Kaito had done at school today? Or was he simply too tired and not in the mood to talk? The thief shrugged. Shin-chan was probably fine. If he didn't hear from his Tantei-kun by lunch tomorrow, then he'd really begin to worry.

Finally reaching his destination, Kaito made his way to the middle of the roof and pulled out the ruby, holding it up to the half moon above. The thief waited a few moments before letting out a sad and tired sigh, pocketing the gem. Nope. Not Pandora. Looks like his luck for the night had run out.

Faintly hearing footsteps coming from the roof, Kaito pulled out his glider and made his way towards the edge of the roof. "Sounds like Hakuba-kun realized he was only chasing a projection." Kaito said with a slight smirk. He would have loved to stay and play with Tantei-san a bit longer, but he knew that if he stayed, Hakuba would once again begin a round of twenty questions, and Kaito just wasn't up to that tonight.

Reaching the roofs edge, Kaito jumped off the roof and began to fly away, just as the door to the roof burst upon, a short cry of aggravation following. A sly smile made its way onto the thief's lips as he looked back, expecting to see Hakuba glaring up at him and demanding he turn around.

Oh but no, it wasn't Tantei-san at all. Kaito's eyes widened and his face paled as he noticed that instead of the form of Hakuba it was instead the form of the last person Kaito had ever expected to see.

By the ledge of the roof stood Kudo Shinichi, a look of annoyance as well as desperation on his gorgeous face.

Kaito's heart nearly stopped as he stared at the figure of the person he thought he'd never get to see again. Oh god… Kaito had forgotten how truly… beautiful Shinichi was. If Kami-sama would permit it, the thief would have stared at the face for the rest of his life.

The Kaitou's heart clenched as soon as he remembered that he was flying off, noticing that his Tantei-kun's form was growing smaller and smaller by the second. He wanted to just drown in those enrapturing blue eyes forever, just forget his troubles and let those eyes capture him.

With a shake of his head Kaito looked forward again, letting the wind play with his hair that wasn't under his top hat. So, that's where his Shin-chan had gone? He'd wanted to play with Kaito, hadn't he? A sad smile made its way onto the teen's lips as he flew away, the museums roof now only a tiny speck.

He'd have to make it up to his Shin-chan for leaving so soon later.

* * *

"God dammit!" the swore rang out loudly on the rooftop, a clang following suit. Shinichi stood on the museums roof, glaring after the thief as he flew away. "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" Shinichi said, hitting the railing on the roof's edge over and over again.

Why'd he have to pass out? Why!

The detective had woken up in the same room he'd passed out in, (dressed in his Shinichi clothes, oddly enough) only to realize that yes, he was in his normal body, and yes, he was late for the heist.

It wasn't long before Shinichi took off towards the spot the heist was at, going as fast as he possibly could. The heist had started half an hour ago! He could only hope that he would make it in time to see his thief before he took off into the night once again.

He had made it in time; in time to see the thief get away, that is.

Shinichi groaned as he sunk to the ground, his eyes downcast. Why hadn't Haibara come sooner? Why hadn't he woken up before the heist?

And why the hell had Kaito looked so heart broken when he saw Shinichi?

Was it because Shinichi had shown up instead of Conan? No that wasn't it… Conan had seen the slight glares Kaito had given him, heard the clear hatred when he'd call Conan "Chibi-tantei". Then why? Why look so heart broken when he saw Shinichi? Why—

Shinichi's eyes widened as realization hit him.

Three months ago Shinichi had disappeared. Three months ago, Edogawa Conan appeared.

And three months ago Kaitou Kid had changed drastically.

Shinichi banged onto the railing again, cursing himself under his breath. Those events were connected! Kaito must have thought Shinichi had died or went missing or something like that! But then why did he look so heart broken…? His eyes widened.

Kaito couldn't… he didn't blame _himself_ for Shinichi's disappearance, did he? How could he? Why?

Shinichi's head shot up as he looked at the faint dot of white in the distance. Now that he thought about it… It did make sense if Kaito did blame himself for Shinichi's disappearance. It would explain why Kaito reacted so strangely when Conan had asked who Kaito's biggest challenge was, as well as why he hated Conan so much.

In the thief's eyes, it was only supposed to be Hakuba and Shinichi who could challenge him. But here was Conan, challenging the thief in ways only Shinichi could.

Conan was probably one giant reminder of Shinichi to Kaito.

But… that still didn't explain the drastic change in demeanor the thief had gone through. Nor did it explain _why_ Kaito blamed himself. Shinichi narrowed his eyes at the night sky, his mind running a mile a minute. There was obviously something else going on behind the scenes, something that made Kaito change so much.

And Shinichi was going to find out what that something was, and get rid of it, so that he could get his thief back to the way he was before.

With new-found determination, Shinichi stood up and headed towards the door he burst threw not ten minutes ago, and began to make his way down to the lobby of the museum. He had a lot of thinking to do.

A lot of thinking to do about a certain thief.

* * *

"Ow. Ow. Ow! Hey! That ear's still attached, you know!" Kaito complained as Aoko pulled him towards the police station by his ear. The thief's words caused Aoko to tug harder on his ear. "Owwww!"

_Stop whining, you're fine._ Shinichi said as he appeared next to Kaito, his hands buried in his pockets. _She's not really going to pull your ear off._

"Walk faster, BaKaito!" Aoko shouted, once again tugging the other's ear. Shinichi laughed nervously, sweat falling down the back of his head.

_Or maybe she will… Maybe you should just walk faster, Kaito-kun_. Kaito glared at Shinichi, which didn't go unnoticed by the blond detective on the other side of Aoko.

_What's he glaring at?_ Hakuba thought. The British detective opened his mouth to question the thief, but stopped when he saw the other's lips move ever so slightly, barely any sound coming out.

"Urusai you smart ass..." Kaito mumbled, still glaring at a smirking Shinichi.

"What was that, Kaito no baka?" Aoko shouted, suddenly throwing Kaito a few feet in front of them. "Don't call me a smart ass!"

Unfortunately for the thief, the trio had been close enough to the station that when Aoko threw him, Kaito went flying right through the doorway, landing on the floor with a loud thud. Kaito let out a groan as he slowly sat up, rubbing his head as he did so.

"Always have to make some sort of grand entrance don't you, Kuroba-niichan?" The magician blinked and looked up at the voice, seeing those damn blue eyes again. "That's the second time I've seen you thrown into a room. You certainly do leave an impression on people." Kaito rolled his eyes as he stood up, stretching out his back. He quickly plastered a fake smile on his lips as he bent down to the boy's level.

"Ne ne, back again, Conan-kun?" Kaito asked, tilting his head to the side slightly. Conan rolled his eyes at the other's words, a grin lightly tugging on his lips.

"Of course. Kid heists are very interesting. Why wouldn't I be where the action is?" the Chibi-tantei asked, a gleam in his eyes. Kaito blinked, seeing an unreadable emotion in the other's eyes for a spilt second. Those were never good.

"Ah! Kaito-kun! I thought you said you were busy today." Nakamori's voice rang out as he walked into the entrance to the station. Kaito laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he looked up at the keibu.

"Um… yeah… about that…I was—gack!" Kaito cried as he was suddenly smacked upside the head. Aoko walked in, an annoyed expression on her face, Hakuba not too far behind, his expression one of amusement.

"I brought the idiot, Tou-san." Aoko said, crossing her arms across her chest. "I figured he could help out again, and I knew that he didn't have any other obligations today. He was just trying to skip out and plan some more pranks, weren't you, BaKaito?" Aoko asked, glaring at the young magician. Kaito laughed nervously once again, attempting to shy away from his childhood friend.

"Well… That's not exactly… you see… erm…" Kaito stuttered, trying to find the right words to defend himself. Not finding words fast enough, Kaito attempted to find a distraction. Quickly, his eyes landed on Conan and he pointed to the boy. "By the way, Keibu, what's Conan-kun doing here again?" At this question, the head of the Task Force snorted, glaring down at Conan, whose face quickly fell to one of displeasure.

"I didn't ask for him, nor did I ask for Mouri Kogorou. So I don't know why the hell the brat's here."

_Because I'm here to do your job for you, you stupid keibu_. Conan thought, glaring up at the taller man.

"Once again, Keibu," Hakuba spoke up, all eyes turning to him, "I asked Edogawa-kun to come. His insight on the last case was quite useful. And I figured it would be useful yet again." Conan beamed proudly up at Hakuba, before grinning smugly at Nakamori.

_Take that, Keibu no baro._ He thought.

"Ne ne! Hakuba-niichan?" Conan said in his child voice. Hakuba's attention quickly went to the small boy. "Can I see the items Kid left behind on his last heist? I might be able to figure something out if I get a close look at them."

"Sure thing, Edogawa-kun." Hakuba said, a small smile making its way onto his lips. That smile flashed into a smirk as he looked at Kaito, who tensed and glanced at Hakuba. "Why don't you go with Kuroba-kun? I'm sure he'd be excited to see some of Kid's… toys. After all, he is Kid's biggest fan, right, Kuroba-kun?" He asked. Kaito nodded slowly, his eyes locked on Hakuba's. What was the half Brit planning?

"Okay!" Conan said, faux excitement lighting up his features. "Let's go, Kuroba-niichan!" he said, snatching Kaito's hand and dragging him out of the room before Kaito had a chance to protest.

"Oof! Hey! Slow down!" Kaito whined, Conan still pulling on his arm towards the evidence room. _For a chibi, he has some strength_. He thought.

Soon the two boys made it to the evidence room, Conan kicking the door shut. The boys quickly made their way over towards the table where Kid's gadgets were laid out.

_So that's what happened to my hair curler turned mini tornado machine went…_ Kaito thought, looking over all of his old toys. He picked up the tiny projector he used against Hakuba at the previous heist, slight pride in his eyes. _I should stop leaving these behind… I keep forgetting how amazing some of these turn out…_

"Ne, Kuroba-niichan?" Conan asked, interrupting Kaito's inner musings. The thief blinked and looked down at the little kid, still holding onto the mini tornado machine. "What do you think some of these gadget's do?" he said, pointing to the table full of tricks and pranks of past heists. Kaito made his way over to the table, looking over some of the stuff. Smoke bombs that failed to go off, old masks, wigs, high heels, dresses (stuff bras included) and so on. The thief couldn't help the fond smile that made its way onto his lips as he lifted up an empty box, recalling how dozens of well trained doves flew out, scaring the pants (quite literally, might he add proudly) off of Nakamori. "Well?"

"I honestly have no idea." Kaito said, shrugging his shoulders as he set the box down. He looked over the items some more, recalling each and every one of them.

"But you're a magician, just like Kid!" Conan said in protest, walking behind Kaito. "You should at least have an idea of what some of these things can do, as well as how he made them, riiight?" Kaito blinked and looked down at Conan, an apologetic smile on his lips.

"Gomen, but just because I'm a magician like Kid, doesn't mean I think like him. I honestly have no idea how he made some of these things." Conan's eyes narrowed greatly, his tiny hands balling up into fists. The magician blinked at the change in attitude, wanting nothing more than to take a step back and away from the annoying kid.

"Cut the crap, you stupid thief!" Conan said, not realizing what he was saying. "We both know that you know how this stuff was made! So just come out and tell me already!" Kaito stared at Conan, shock clear on his features. The thief opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to come up with a reply.

"Wha-" Kaito said, before the door burst open and Aoko poked her head in.

"BaKaito! Tou-san has a question… for you…" Aoko said, noticing the tense air between the two boys. Jumping as soon as the door opened, Kaito smiled meekly, looking much more tired than he did moments before.

"Gomen Aoko, but it'll have to wait. I'm not feeling very well at the moment… I'm gonna go home and rest… Ja ne." Kaito said, quickly walking out of the room and out of the station.

"Nani?" Aoko asked, worry and anger flashing in her eyes quickly. "Oh no you don't! You're not getting away that easily!" Aoko turned and went after the thief, planning on dragging him back if she had too.

Conan stood rooted to the spot, staring after the pair. What had just happened? As soon as he said those words, Kaito got a look of sheer horror on his face. Was it really surprising that a kid would say such—

Wait.

Conan hadn't called him Kuroba-kun, Kuroba-niichan or anything like that during his mini rant.

He called him a stupid thief.

"Kuso!" Conan ran out of the room, looking out the front door after the retreating figure of Aoko. Kaito didn't know Conan knew of his secret. He should have watched his words more carefully! From the other's expression, Conan knew that he was going to over think Conan's words, and end up making things worse for himself.

Conan let out a long sigh as he walked back into the station, his shoulders slumping. He didn't know why, but he felt things were going to get much more complicated when it came to the thief.

And it was all his fault.

* * *

**A/N**: …8D How many of you saw that coming? Rly? (evil grin) :3 Bet none of you expected THAT to happen, now did you? ;D (totally and utterly evil) I do feel a little bad leaving you guys off with yet another cliffie but… xD oh well~ Keeps you guys interested, doesn't it? 83 Least it was a longer chapter this time, right? ;D

Hope you guys liked it! ^.^

Review for a lil author? D: Please?

~Angel~


	10. Confessions of a Troubled Mind

_Anonymous review replies:_

_Blue: Thanks! ^.^ I'm glad you find it fun and interesting! You finally get to see what happens next ;D Enjoy_

_Angel Red: He'll figure it out when I tell him to 8D Here's your next chapter!_

_Lizard: Lil bit of both. Kaito saw Shinichi, but he thought he was seeing a hallocination, since he thinks Shin-chan's dead an all. And yes! Shinichi did really loose it! And probably XD We're all born a liiiillte crazy~ Oooh~ you have no idea what Guru-chan's gonna do about Kai-chan's mental state –evil grin- And omg! –blush- ^/^ I'm soo happy to hear I'm one of your fav authors =D Here's your update~_

_Loo shuenpi: :O D: 8D D8 :X =D_

**A/N**: Ohai! 8D Miss me yet? Anyways! I'm back after a long two weeks! ^.^ Sorry for leaving you all hanging like that! But the spot was waaay too good to pass up –griiin-. Here's your long awaited chapter! And look! 8D I got Dai-chan long enough to beta it! So let's get read-

**B/N**: I feel so sorry for you guys. You don't even know what the hell you're getting in to here, and You're just plunging right in. Oh well, it's your funeral!

**A/N**: Hey! Don't spoil my fun by telling them stuff like that! Dx now they'll expect the evilness! –pout-

**B/N**: Too bad! –crosses arms and gives pouty face-

**Disclaimer: **Nein nein nein nein! (sooo not an Inglorious Bastards reference) I don't on DC or MK.

**Chapter 9**: Confessions of a Troubled Mind

* * *

Kaito knew he'd hated that mini detective for a reason! He was one of _them_! The god damn Organization must have sent someone to keep an eye on him, make sure that he didn't step out of line or something. How had he not seen it before? Those damn all seeing eyes, a brain way to big for a little kid like him to have, and he just kept popping up _everywhere_.

Kaito would have cried out his frustrations if he weren't running for his life.

The thief had heard Aoko rushing out after him, yelling for him to stop. He ignored her calls, however, and opted to get away from her as quickly as he could. Luckily, Kaito had lost Aoko only a few minutes after leaving the police station, but he still felt the need to keep running.

Maybe… just maybe… if he kept running, he'd be able to get away from everything, and return to his normal life. Kaito knew that it was a useless attempt and a waste of his energy, but by this point he was willing to try just about anything.

However, soon the burning in his legs became too much, and Kaito was forced to stop running. Flopping down onto the ground, Kaito leaned back, putting his weight onto his arms, and panted heavily, getting all the air that he could.

_You've caused Aoko another reason to worry about you, Kaito-kun._ Shinichi said, kneeling down in front of Kaito, a look of worry on his face. _You shouldn't have run out like that. You could have easily avoided the brat if you just went and talked to Nakamori-keibu. Now you've only given them more reason to worry about you as well as to get suspicious of what's going on._ The thief let out a hollow laugh, throwing his head back and looking up at the partly cloudy sky.

"They can get suspicious all they want. They'll never be able to figure out what's _really_ going on. I mean really. Who would guess someone was getting blackmailed by an evil organization? It sounds farfetched, even to me!" Kaito said, still chuckling slightly as he lay down on the grass. Shinichi let out a sigh and sat down as well, crossing his legs.

_What about Hakuba-kun? He's been digging deeper and deeper into things recently. What if he stumbles upon something he shouldn't?_ Shinichi reasoned. Kaito let out a snort, closing his eyes to shut out the world for a moment.

"The only way he could connect the dots is if I put the pencil into his hand and show him how!" Kaito said, rubbing his palms into his eye sockets. "And I don't plan on doing that anytime soon."

_Don't forget that he's been cornering you more and more recently, and asking a lot more questions too. Sooner or later you're not going to be able to get away, Kaito-kun. And what are you going to do then? You know he'll be able to see right through your lies._ Kaito smirked painfully as he sat up, looking Shinichi dead on.

"I'm guessing that's what the brat's for." He said, running a hand through his messy hair. "To make sure I don't slip up, or give hints about my situation. Snake did say the higher ups were getting a bit worried about the growing suspicion. I guess Conan is a scapegoat or something in case I fuck up." Shinichi shook his head, his lips turning downwards into a frown.

_Something about that theory doesn't sit right with me…_ Shinichi said, furrowing his brow in thought. Kaito tilted his head to the side, looking at his companion in confusion. _I mean, why now? And why some kid like that? It just doesn't add up. Why send some new guy, a seven year old no less, to do a job that Snake could just as easily do himself by telling you to be more careful? There must be another reason that he called you a thief. _

"What other reason could there be?" Kaito asked, letting out a sigh. "I've never seen that kid in my life. So how could he learn my secret so quickly? Someone must have told him. Someone in the Black Organization." Shinichi let out another sigh, looking sadly at Kaito. If only he would listen to reason… "Anyways, where are we?" Kaito asked, trying to change the subject. Both boys blinked and looked around for the first time since they arrived.

Kaito blinked as he looked off into the distance in front of him, a fond smile making its way onto his lips.

_Is that…?_ Shinichi asked, following Kaito's gaze. The thief nodded.

"The clock tower where you and I first met? Yup. It seems so long ago doesn't it… Shin-chan?" Kaito asked, a fond smile making its way onto his lips. Shinichi chuckled and nodded in agreement, his gaze still on the clock.

_It does… I can still remember how surprised you were when the Task Force kept finding you, and you had no idea what was going on._ He said through a chuckle. _You were so confused!_

"Oi!" Kaito said, his face flushing slightly. "It's not my fault! I'd never expected the great Kudo Shinichi to grace me with his presence at one of my heists! Though…" Kaito's smile returned to his face, the action feeling slightly foreign to him. "I am glad you came that night. It was one of many interesting nights. My only regret is that I didn't get to see your face…" Shinichi chuckled, shaking his head back and forth.

Kaito's eyes softened as his shoulders drooped slightly as he continued to gaze at the detective. Though they seemed a little to dull for the thief's liking, Shinichi's eyes were still the most beautiful shade of blue he had ever seen. And that angelic face…Oh how Kaito wanted to reach forward and caress the other's cheek, just to feel that amazing skin of his… But, to Kaito's dismay, Shinichi had asked Kaito to not touch him at all when he first appeared. Something about not wanting those "wandering trick happy hands" all over his body or something like that. Kaito hadn't paid much attention to that conversation.

All Kaito had been able to pay attention to was that Shinichi was _there_, with _him_. Kaito hadn't been able to remember the last time he'd been that happy. His Shin-chan had finally come to see him! Another smile made its way onto Kaito's lips a he thought back to the memory, not noticing Shinichi fading away in front of him.

The thief remembered wanting to jump up and wrap his arms around Shinichi, not letting go ever again, only for Shinichi to back away and tell him that touching was a no-no. It was a little discouraging, but Kaito could live with that. After asking where he had been, (the detective insisting he'd just been on a long vacation) Kaito exclaimed once again how glad he was to have his Shin-chan back. He could still remember the exact words he'd said to the detective, as well as the emotions that had swelled up in him.

"_I knew you'd come back, Shin-chan! This is where you and I are different! When I steal something, I return it eventually. But when you stole my heart and ran off with it, you didn't plan on returning it, did you?"_

Before Shinichi had had a chance to respond, Kaito's eyes had widened. It had been the first time he'd admitted it to himself in such a way before.

Shinichi had stolen his heart. And he never planned on stealing it back.

* * *

"Ne, Aoko?" Ginzo asked his daughter, looking over his shoulder at the girl. Perking up at her name, Aoko looked away from Hakuba, who she had been talking with, and concentrated solely on her father. "Could you go get Kaito-kun? I'd like to ask him something really quickly…" Aoko blinked before she smiled.

"Sure, Tou-san! I'll go get him!" she said, quickly making her way over to where Kaito and Conan had gone off to.

Hakuba watched Aoko head to get the idiot magician, his mind instantly wandering to his favorite subject. A slight smirk appeared on his lips as he thought about Conan-kun and Kuroba being alone together. He wasn't sure what they would talk about exactly, but the blond was confident that Conan would at least get some answers as to what could possibly be going through the magician's head.

That illusion quickly crashed and burned, however, when Kaito came bursting out of the room he and Conan had been in, and raced out the door, not looking at either Nakamori-keibu or himself. Hakuba blinked, about to rush after the idiot.

"BaKaito! Get back here before I get the mop!" Aoko shouted, already chasing after the quickly retreating thief. "Kaito! What the hell is wrong with you?" She called out, out of the station and after Kaito in mere seconds.

"…Nani?" Hakuba said to no one in particular, curious as to what the hell had just happened. And why had Kaito looked positively terrified? What had Aoko said to him now?

"Kuso!" Hakuba heard Conan say, watching as the little chibi ran to the front door. After a few moments of staring out into the street, Conan sighed and let his shoulders sag, trudging back into the station. "Stupid idiot…" He mumbled. Hakuba blinked once more and tilted his head to the side, making his way over to the mini detective.

"What just happened, Edogawa-kun?" he asked, standing in front of the dejected boy. "Why did Kuroba-kun suddenly take off like that?" Conan sighed again, looking up at the older boy, guilt all over his face.

"I…er… said something to Kaito-niichan and he sort of took off… I dunno what I said though!" Conan said, sticking his arms out slightly as a defensive look crossed his face. Hakuba noted, however, that guilt and regret still covered Conan's expression. Hakuba also noticed that Conan was shaking, ever so slightly, and small beads of sweat dripped down his temple. Was he nervous about something? "But I think whatever it is that I said, he took it the wrong way…" heaving another sigh, Conan's shoulders slumped once more. "I hope Aoko-neechan can catch him so I can apologize…" Hakuba smiled weakly and ruffled the other's hair a bit.

"Knowing Aoko-kun, I'm sure she'll bring him back, kicking and screaming probably." The blond said in reassurance. "Now, Edogawa-kun," Hakuba started, changing the topic abruptly. At this, Conan perked up, looking up at Hakuba right in the eyes. "Did you find anything out about Kuroba-kun? Or do you have nothing new to report?" He asked.

Putting his hand to his chin, Conan looked off to the side, a thoughtful look on his face. He hadn't really found out anything new today… well besides the fact that he'd just freaked Kaito out a lot more than he should have. But wasn't there something he'd figured out a while ago… Oh!

"How often did Kaitou Kid see Shinichi-niichan?" Conan asked, seemingly randomly. Hakuba blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question.

"Often enough, I think…" Hakuba said, gaining a thoughtful look in his eyes as well. Now that he thought about it… He'd seen Kudo-kun at a lot of Kaito's heists, and, thought he hated to admit it, Kudo-kun had gotten closer to the thief a lot more than Hakuba had. "Enough that I think they got rather acquainted with each other, in a sort of rivalry kind of way. Why do you ask, Edogawa-kun?"

"Shinichi-niichan went missing about three months ago, right?" Conan asked, answering the other's question with one of his own.

"Hai I believe that's right… But why do you ask? What does this have to do with anything?" What the hell was the kid getting at?

"And when did Kaitou Kid start changing his routines?"

"…Three months ago…" Hakuba said slowly, realization dawning on him. "No… He wouldn't… would he…?" he said, trailing off at the end.

"Blame himself for whatever happened to Shinichi-niichan? Likely." Conan said through a sigh. "Problem is, I have no idea _why_ Kid would blame himself for a thing like that. Do you have any ideas, Hakuba-niichan?" Conan asked, tilting his head to the side.

Hakuba, however, had his hand to his chin and was staring off into space, a far away look in his eyes. Now that the blond thought about it… Kuroba-kun always did seem more bouncy the day after a heist where Kudo-kun was involved. The magician always just seemed… happier on those days. Hakuba had always thought that it was because Kuroba-kun had extra energy from the heist but with this new information from Edogawa-kun…

Well damn.

Hakuba's eyes widened as an epiphany hit him and some of the puzzle pieces surrounding Kuroba-kun fit into place. It just made _so much more_ sense now! Of course there were a few missing pieces to this mystery, but at least he was able to understand the thief a little better right now.

Opening his mouth to share his new revelation with the chibi detective, Hakuba was interrupted as a clearly annoyed Aoko stormed into the station, Kuroba-kun nowhere in sight.

"God damn that idiotic magician…" her hands clenching and unclenching as her shoulders sagged slightly in defeat. "He got away from me! Again! Dammit…" she sighed again, her attention quickly going to Conan, who tensed slightly under her heated gaze. "What did you say to Kaito, Conan-kun? I don't remember ever seeing Kaito that spooked before…" she said trailing off, the worry setting into her features. Conan laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I must have said something wrong and Kaito-niichan sort of… freaked out a little bit…" Conan frowned, that guilt setting back into his face. "I really didn't mean to upset him! Honest! I was hoping you were going to bring him back so I could apologize…" Aoko gave him a weak smile, ruffling his hair slightly.

_I'm not a damn dog!_ Conan thought. _So could you all _stop_ doing that?_

"I'm sure he'll forgive you, Conan-kun." Aoko said putting her hands on her hips as a tired smile made its way onto her lips. "Kaito probably just needs to cool off for a bit…" she said shrugging her shoulders. "I'm sure he'll be back soon enough."

Only half listening to the exchange of words, Hakuba looked outside the door, in the direction that Kuroba-kun had taken off in. Wait a second… If what Hakuba suspected was true… then…

"Ne, Aoko-kun?" Hakuba said, slowly taking his gaze from the door towards the smaller girl. Aoko blinked and looked up at the blond, curious as to what he wanted to ask her. "About where did you loose Kuroba-kun?" Aoko blinked again, not expecting that question.

"Umm…" Aoko said, looking up at the ceiling and putting a finger to her chin. "About a few blocks from here, near the park. Why, Hakuba-kun?" she asked, turning her attention back onto the half Brit. Hakuba nodded, as if answering a mental question. He grinned and patted Aoko on the shoulder, beginning to walk out the door.

"Arigato, Aoko-kun!" He called over his shoulder, walking a little faster. "I have a hunch I have to follow! I'll be back as soon as I can! Promise! Ja ne!" He shouted, his fast walk turning into a full-blown sprint.

"Eh! M-matte, Hakuba-kun!" Aoko said, holding her hand out towards the boy. Letting out a huff and clenching her hand into her fist, glaring after the half Brit. She quickly turned her attention onto Conan, who flinched and backed away from the distraught girl. "I don't know how… But I think this is your fault." She said before storming off to find her father. Conan blinked, staring after her.

_The hell did I do?_ He thought, confusion clear on his face.

* * *

After a few moments of running, Hakuba finally slowed down and leaned against a tree, trying to catch his breath. So far, his hunch didn't appear to be right… He hadn't seen head or tail of Kuroba-kun yet. Letting out a sigh, Hakuba began to walk, taking in his surroundings carefully. He just had a feeling that Kuroba-kun was around here somewhere… He just had to look in the right places for the thief…

Suddenly hearing a familiar hollow laugh, Hakuba began to make his way over to the noise, picking up speed slightly as the laugh got louder. It wasn't long, luckily, before Hakuba saw what he was looking for. Kuroba sat on the grass, looking up at the sky, tension clear in his body language. Letting out a small sigh, Hakuba walked up next to the other, putting a hand in his pocket as he looked off into the distance.

At hearing someone approach him, Kaito looked up, blinking when he noticed that it was Hakuba. Turning his attention back to what was in front of him, Kaito acted like the other wasn't even there. Well, that was until Hakuba spoke up.

"I figured I'd find you here, Kuroba-kun." Hakuba said evenly, his attention still on the giant clock tower a ways away from where they currently were. Kaito 'hmm'd, only half paying attention to what the other was saying. "Please Kuroba-kun…" Hakuba said, pleading clear in his voice. This caused Kaito to look up, an eyebrow raised and curiosity clear on his face. It wasn't every day the great Hakuba Saguru resorted to begging. "Just tell me… do… do you love him…?" he asked, completely catching the thief off guard.

Kaito's eyes widened, never expecting _that_ kind of question from Hakuba of all people. Shaking off his slight shock, Kaito looked at the tower again, a sad smile on his lips. He didn't have to ask who Hakuba meant. It was sort of obvious at this moment. "…Yes… I do…" Kaito said sadly, looking down a bit so that his bangs covered half of his face. "…I love him… so much… d-demo…" He said, his shoulders beginning to shake with sobs. Hakuba smiled sympathetically at the other and knelt down, gently putting his hand on his quaking shoulder.

"I'm sure he's alright, Kuroba-kun. He's not the kind of guy to get into a situation he can't get out of, you know." He said soothingly. So he had been right… Kaito did blame himself for Kudo-kun's mysterious disappearance.

Kaito's only reply was a sob that shook his entire body, a small tear falling down his cheek.

* * *

**A/N**: As they say, third times the charm! 8D –evil- Poor Kai-chan D: he's getting abused in sooo many different ways! ;~; Thought at least Conan and Hakuba have sort of idea of what's going on with our poor lil magician~! So maybe then can help him? …Maybe ;D

**B/N**: Bet you guys didn't see that coming, huh? –evil grin- Right, so Kai-kun's a bit mislead, and Hakuba's slowly getting closer to the truth...for now. This story is just too much fun to beta, I mean really, it's just one evil thing after another with this girl, and there aren't any real signs of stopping yet. For all those concerned, yes I'm back and yes, I'm better...just trying to get homework and social life a little more balanced. Ta ta for now! I'll be back next time!

**A/N**: You better mean that ¬¬ You ARE my beta after all… Anyways! There you have it 8D Review? Please? D: If you don't I MIIIGHT not end on a cliff hanger next time ;D Maybe~

~Angel~


	11. To Love an Ahou

_Anonymous review replies:_

_Loo shuenpi: LATER HOMOPHOBIC BITCH ;D_

_ThePirateMage: …XD Hurray for confused siblings! Glad you got excited for my new chapter! :3 here's your next one!_

_Firepaw: Yay! 8D Love! I know! X3 I love playing around with the Shin-chan hallucination~ It's just fun~ -grin- And hahaha! XD omg I love how you put that! "size issues" lmao. That made my day when I read your review. Here's more for you to read 8D_

_Lizard: You're very welcome for the update :3 Yush! Kai-chan is being an idiot when it comes to Conan D: Gonna have to wait to see what Guru-chan does ;3 this one focuses more on Conan than Kaito for once XD;; Hahaha and good chapter to ask that question about Hei-kun! XD Read this chapter, and your question shall be answer 83 Here's your update!_

**A/N**: M'kay. Seeing as how some stupid review (if you read this yes I called you stupid) didn't get the VERY clear hints up until now: **THIS IS YAOI. **As in dudes liking dudes! Don't like, get the hell out of my story. I don't stand for homophobes at all. As soon as this is posted I'll be adding another warning to the prologue -.-Stupid close minded –grumbles-

Anyways! 8D Enough of my ramblings. Here's your next chapter! ^.^ And once again, Dai-chan wasn't able to edit it Dx She had to get her laptop fixed (named Shin-chan to go with my laptop named Kai-chan X3~ yes we're weird) and I wasn't able to send it to her. Since it was her break she _could_ have looked it over... but nah. xD We were too busy having fun with other kids back from break. I'm sorry about any mistakes I miss, but eh.

Enjoy your reading! :3 And know, after this chapter, I officially hate typing out accents -.-;

**Disclaimer:** Nope~ Don't own~ I own my own Kaitou Kid though :3 Lawl laptop joke Dx –shot-

* * *

**Chapter 10**: To Love an Ahou

Conan sighed as he sat in front of the TV, not paying attention to whatever it was that was on the screen. Usually he would at least half pay attention to these silly cartoons (Ran insisted on making him watch them, saying it would make him smarter. Conan had to hold back a roll of his eyes) but found he couldn't, not today.

It had hardly been twenty-four hours since he'd last seen the thief, and he still felt incredibly guilty about what he had said. Kaito probably thought he was a stalker, or someone out to get him.

Conan let out a snort at that thought. Who would be out to get Kaito? The only ones that knew his secret were himself and Hakuba.

Dismissing that thought easily, Conan let his mind wander to what took place after his little slip up. He'd told Hakuba about his theory on Kaito blaming himself for Shinichi's disappearance, Aoko came back without Kaito, and Hakuba had taken off after the magician, promising he'd return shortly.

No more had been said on the matter, until Hakuba returned a little over an hour later, a little more crestfallen than earlier. The blond said it was that it was because he hadn't been able to find Kaito, but Conan wasn't fooled. Hakuba had found Kaito, and something must have happened between them. Problem was, Conan had no idea what had transpired between the two boys. Letting out a sigh, Conan closed his eyes and let his head rest against the couches cushions.

Really now, Conan should stop thinking about the thief so much. He had other cases that he should have been helping Megure-keibu on. The mini detective frowned as realization hit him. He hadn't been on a real case in a while, had he? He'd been putting so much energy and thought into Kaitou Kid and his alter ego that he really hadn't had time to concentrate on other mysteries around Beika. If the police really needed help and couldn't reach Conan, or even Kogorou, then they could always call-

Conan jumped as shrill sound reached his ears. Blinking and looking around the room, Conan found that the annoying noise had been caused by none other than his cell phone. Reaching over onto the coffee table, the shrunken detective picked up the device and looked at the number. Ah. Speak of the Devil. He had to have planned that. He just had to. Conan flipped his phone open, and put the receiver to his ear.

"Kudo!" exploded the voice of Hattori Heiji. He sounded as happy as ever. "Been a while, eh? How've ya been?" the dark skinned detective asked. Conan sighed, rolling his eyes slightly at the other's words.

"As good as a seventeen year old can be in a seven year olds body." Conan said, his voice filled with sarcasm. Heiji laughed good-naturedly. The mini detective wasn't sure if he should be angered by that laugh or not.

"Ah come on Kudo! Cheer up a bit!" Heiji said, the smile clear in his voice. "Do ya always have ta sound so sulky when I call ya?" he asked.

"Do you always have to put me in a sulky mood when you call?" Conan retorted. A gasp of mock surprise sounded from the other end.

"Ya wound me, Kudo! Ya really do!" Heiji said, his hurt tone failing to hide his laughter. "Anyways! I was calling just ta see how ya were holdin' up with the whole Conan thing and all. Nee-chan find ya out yet?" Conan snorted.

"Not even close. Despite how hard it is to act like a little kid, she seems to believe it easily enough. Demo..." Conan said slowly, catching Hattori's attention quickly. "…I've… er… N-nevermind!" Conan said, shaking his head from side to side as a blush made its way onto his cheeks.

"What were ya gonna say, Kudo?" Heiji said with amusement. Conan cursed under his breath. He could just see the smirk on the other's lips. "Nee-chan putting dirty thoughts in yer head or somethin'?" Conan's blush increased tenfold.

"H-Hattori no hentai!" Conan shouted completely flustered. Hattori's laughter certainly wasn't helping his embarrassment either. "This isn't about Ran! It's about someone else!" It took Conan only a second to realize what he'd just said. "…Ignore that statement." He said, smacking his forehead with his palm, his face an even brighter red.

"Heh heh heh… So there _is_ someone Kudo likes besides Nee-chan~" Hattori said mischievously. "So, Kudo. Who's tha lucky lady?" Conan shut his eyes tightly, wanting nothing more than for Hattori to disappear and never come back. "Ne ne~ Come on Kudo! Ya know ya can tell me anythin'!"

"It's not about that, Hattori!" Conan said, his face still bright red as he let out a long sigh.

"Eh? Really?" Hattori asked, clearly confused. "Than what is this about, if not Nee-chan?" Conan bit his lip, trying to think of how to explain it just right to the Osakan.

"Well…" Conan said slowly, beginning to figure out what he wanted to say exactly. "I've been thinking about someone a lot recently… I'm worried about him. Really worried. He hasn't been himself recently. And he's not telling anyone why, so I have no idea how to help him. I just want him to be okay and smile again…" Conan let out a sigh, his shoulders sagging in defeat. Hattori was silent for a few moments, no doubt mulling over this new information. After a few moments of silence, the Detective of the West finally spoke up.

"Well, there is one thin' I can tell ya 'bout this guy." He said. Conan's face lit up, taking in any new hope he could about Kaito.

"What! What is it?" He asked eagerly. He heard Hattori chuckle on the other end, no doubt at his childish behavior.

"Ya like 'im."

Conan's face fell. Well that was useless informat—

Wait what?

"Nani?" Conan cried, his eyes bugging out of his sockets. "Y-you're crazy, you idiot! I don't like Kaito! No way in hell! Your deductive skills really suck!" Conan said, highly flustered and embarrassed at the mere thought of liking Kaito. I mean really! Kaito was just some idiot that had gotten into trouble that Conan needed to get him out of! And just because he was always excited when he was going to one of Kid's heists meant nothing at all! And the fact that he loved being around the thief meant—

"…God dammit" Conan groaned, putting his head in his hand, his face the color of his tie. He vaguely heard Hattori's laughter on the other end. But he didn't pay any mind.

He couldn't really love Kuroba Kaito… could he? It's not like Conan constantly thought about the thief, was able to easily get lost in those indigo orbs, how he craved to hear his musical laughter and wanted nothing more than the other's happiness…

Okay so maybe he was in love with that idiot.

"Why me?" Conan groaned out, not aiming his question at anyone in particular.

"Kaito-kun, eh?" Hattori said, the amusement in his voice obvious. "Besides! Think of it this way! 'Least it's not a dead body fallin' from th' sky!" Conan let out a loud groan, letting his head thump against the back of the couch.

"I almost wish it was a dead body! Those I know how to deal with! I don't know how to deal with this stuff!" Conan said, highly annoyed. He heard Heiji chuckle on the other end again.

"Why not ask Kaito-kun 'bout this kinda stuff then? I'm sure he c'n tell ya alllll about it." Once again, Conan flushed.

"U-urusai!" he yelled at the Osakan, the chuckle still sounding over his phone. Quickly shoving down all embarrassment, Conan took a deep breath, his tone becoming serious once again. "But really, Hattori," the other's tone caused the Osakan to sober up, all laughter quickly dying down. "What do you think I should do? He doesn't want help, he won't tell anyone what's wrong, and whatever's going on is clearly getting worse!" Heiji sighed sadly, trying to think of just the right words.

"Well, ya c'n do one of two thin's. One, do what ya do best an' investigate some more. Or two, wait it out an' let him tell ya. Otherwise, there ain't much ya can do. Gomen, Kudo." Conan sighed, his shoulders slumping.

"Arigato for trying, Hattori." Conan said, a little crestfallen. "I guess I'll keep looking into what happened a few months ago to cause him to change like that."

"No offense, but ya shoulda done that in th' first place, ahou." Hattori said teasingly. Conan glared at the space in front of him, wishing the Osakan was there with him so he could hit him.

"Baaaaro." Conan said slowly, before clicking his phone shut, vaguely hearing laughing before the line disconnected. Well, the idiot did have a point…though Conan would never admit it to his face. He should go back and dig some more into what had happened with Kaito.

"Conan-kun! Tadaima!" Ran's voice echoed throughout the house.

…Well. You know. After he dealt with Ran first.

* * *

**A/N:** Dammit D: I broke my streak of cliffies! –pout- well kinda XD I don't count this as a cliffie so ne~ :P All I have to say about this chapter is that Heiji's accent is a bitch to type! Dx But I don't really care since Heiji's awesome XD

So Conan now knows why he can't stop thinking about our magician :O What's he gonna do with this new info? ;D Gonna have to wait a liiiiittle longer to find out. Sorry~ :3

So, like it? Hate it? ;D Find it funny and all that shit? Tell me in a review~ :3 Please~?

Till next time! ^.^

~Angel~


	12. Closer To The Edge

_Anonymous Review Replies:_

_Firepaw: …They're both ahou's. ;D Thanks for the love! ^.^ I know! Poor Kai-chan! ;~; X3 I love that idea too~ I was like "Omg I love this! O_O I need to use it!" when I thought of it XD and yush! :P They are sooo closer than friends ;D_

**A/N:** Bleh. It's technically Monday right now and this annoys me -.-; But Dai-chan said she was gonna, but then she had other shit to do and then it was past eleven and yeah Dx I would have edited it sooner, but I was busy with a project -.-; Damn work. I still have physics to study for… but I'm doomed anyways :P stupid physics Dx I prefer defying it dammit! Anyways here's your new chapter~ :P

**Disclaimer: **Nooope Dx Don't own~

**Chapter 11: **Closer To The Edge

* * *

Concentrating on school work was the last thing Kaito wanted to do right now. His mind was everywhere but the lecture their chemistry teacher was giving.

I mean how could he concentrate when so much had happened only a few days before?

Not only had he found out that that chibi was working for the devils, but Hakuba had figured out one of his biggest secrets.

Even a few days later, and Kaito's heart still ached after his slight confession to Hakuba. The thief may not have out right said "I love Shinichi", but it was close enough.

After Hakuba had asked about Kaito's feelings, the blond informed Kaito that he would help in finding the Heisei Holmes. The thief had not been as excited as Hakuba expected, but the thief's shoulders had sagged in relief at the offer.

Once Kaito had calmed down some, Hakuba insisted on taking Kaito home. For the whole walk back to the Kurobas', Kaito protested the help, claiming he was perfectly fine. The thief's annoyance only increased, however, when Shinichi showed up and started siding with Hakuba, saying Kaito looked like hell and needed a babysitter.

Traitor.

_I'm rather proud of you, Kaito-kun._ Shinichi said, appearing in front of Kaito's desk. Shinichi knelt down, putting his arms on the desk and his head in his arms. _You've gone through a full day of school and haven't tried to ditch once._ Kaito scoffed, his attention going from Shinichi to the window.

"I thought about leaving every few minutes, though." Kaito mumbled lowly. A fond smile made its way onto Shinichi's lips.

_You thought about it yes, but for once you didn't act on it and instead stayed. And I'm glad that you did. School can be relaxing, even a little down time from all your heists and what not._ Kaito snorted.

"Down time… sure…" Kaito leaned back in his chair, his eyes traveling towards the clock just above the door. Class was just about over, and Kaito was looking forward to being free of these confining walls. "I'm sick of being here…" Shinichi frowned in worry, but didn't comment. The see-through detective opted to just stare at Kaito with worry, wanting to help the magician any way that he could.

Shinichi wasn't the only one watching Kaito, however. Hakuba stared at the magician, his brown gaze staring the other down, trying to figure out the new mysteries that surrounded Kuroba Kaito.

Hakuba noticed how Kaito looked even skinnier than he had weeks prior. Was the thief even eating at all anymore? Hakuba scowled at the thought. The detective also noticed that Kaito kept glancing in front of him, his lips moving ever so slightly. That was nothing new, however. Kaito was always mumbling something to himself, no doubt planning for another heist or a prank.

This mumbling, however, sent a chill throughout Hakuba's body. It just didn't seem natural to him. Like there was something… off about the words Kaito was saying to himself. The bags under Kaito's eyes suggested that it might have to do with being sleep deprived, but Hakuba had a feeling that that wasn't it.

Before the blond detective could dwell on it much longer, however, the bell for the end of class rang, and his time observing the thief was once again taken from him. The half Brit let out a sigh and began to pack up his things, figuring that it would be pointless to try and interrogate Kaito after school. Knowing the magician he was already out the front doors.

"Hakuba-kun?" The blond looked up, trying to find who had called his name. Looking at the front of the room, he found that their chemistry teacher was looking straight at him, a frown on his lips. "Could you come up here for a few moments, please?" he asked. Hakuba nodded and stood up, leaving his half packed bag on his desk.

"Hai, sensei." Hakuba said as he made his way to the front of the room.

The thief, meanwhile, hadn't left just yet, much to his dismay. The second the bell had rung, a certain witch had caught him by the wrist and dragged him to the back of the classroom. Every time Kaito tugged, trying to get his wrist out of the other's hold, the witch only tightened her grip, causing Kaito to wince.

"The hell Koizumi!" Kaito cursed as soon as the witch let go of his wrist. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Akako, annoyance clear in his expression. Couldn't he just go home in peace for once? "If this is some ploy to get me to fall in love with you again I'll have no part in it! I-"

"Would you be quiet for one second!" Akako hissed, turning around sharply and glaring at the thief. Kaito's glare faltered, shock and terror appearing in his eyes. Seeing this, Akako's anger quickly melted to the floor, her shoulders slumping a bit as her gaze softened. "Gomen, Kaito-kun. I didn't mean to raise my voice." Avoiding her gaze, Kaito looked off to the side, trying to make himself as small as possible.

"It's alright, Koizumi." He said after a few moments. "I'm just a little… on edge is all." Akako stared at him for a few seconds, as if trying to see into his very soul. Knowing her, Kaito didn't doubt that one bit. "If you're not here to steal my heart or something, what do you want?"

"You've been acting rather odd, Kaito-kun." Said explained, causing Kaito to tense. Of course this is what the witch wanted. It's what everyone wanted. "And I asked Lucifer what was wrong… Demo…" she sighed and shook her head from side to side. "Even he's not completely sure. All he knows is that something dark has clipped your wings and caged you. And you're not fighting it at all. It's as if you've just…given into those who have cornered you. Why? Why would you give up without a fight Kaito-kun?" She all but pleaded, taking a step closer to the thief. In turn, Kaito took a step back, looking down so that his bangs covered his eyes.

"…Because…" the thief said after a moment. "I… have no choice in the matter…" the more he said, the smaller his words became. The witch stared Kaito down, trying to figure out the deeper meaning behind his words.

"But you always have a choice, Kaito-kun! You always find a way to escape! It's what you're best at!" Akako said, trying to coax Kaito into fighting back against the bars that held him still. Kaito shook his head, closing his eyes tightly as he clenched his hands into tight fists.

"Not this time… There is no escape for me…" Akako's eyes widened at the confession. No escape for the thief? Were things truly that terrible for the young magician? The witch took a step forward, slowly raising her hand to place it onto Kaito's shoulder.

"Kaito-kun…" She began slowly. Before anymore could be said, however, a larger hand placed itself onto Kaito's shoulder, causing Kaito to tense, his eyes bursting open as he looked up at the owner of the hand. His body relaxed ever so slightly as soon as he noticed it was Hakuba.

"Nani, Hakuba-kun?" Kaito said, pushing down the feelings that had broken through his Poker Face while talking to the witch. "Didn't you already leave?" He asked. A small smirk made its way onto Hakuba's lips as he looked down, surprisingly gently at Kaito.

"Iie. Sensei had something he wanted to talk to me about before I left." The half Brit said, gazing into Kaito's eyes to try and figure out what Kaito was thinking. "Shouldn't I be asking you that, Kuroba-kun?" The blond asked, raising an amused eyebrow. Kaito pouted slightly. Really, he didn't _always_ bolt as soon as the bell rang… did he?

"I would have already left," Kaito began. "But Koizumi-kun stopped me." Hakuba raised an eyebrow at this. "She was sprouting more stuff about the devil and what not, right, Koizumi-huh?" Kaito blinked and he looked in front of him, only to find no trace of the witch. "Hey where did she…" Before Kaito could leave to go off and find the witch to figure out the rest of her words, Hakuba tightened his grip on the magician's shoulder. Kaito stopped moving instantly and looked up at Hakuba with confusion. "Nani? What is it, Hakuba-kun?" Oh the thief did not like that glint in the other's eyes.

"What Sensei wanted to talk about was how poorly you've been doing in class lately, Kuroba-kun." Hakuba elaborated. Kaito's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked up at Hakuba. "He said that he was worried about you passing this term and suggested you getting a tutor of sorts." Kaito's eyes widened in realization and he slowly began to shake his head. "Right after school everyday sound good to you, Kuroba-kun?" Hakuba asked, a smile making its way onto his lips. Kaito noted, however, that the smile looked mischievous. "Alright. See you after school tomorrow for your first study session, Kuroba-kun." Hakuba said, not waiting for the other to reply to his question. The half Brit quickly finished putting his stuff away and made his way out of the classroom.

Kaito stared at Hakuba's retreating back, something akin to shock and horror in his eyes. Out of everyone in the class, why did his assigned tutor have to be Hakuba Saguru? The one person that saw everything about Kaito! Aoko would have been better than this!

Kaito turned around, frantically looking for his teacher. Finding the man half way to the door, Kaito sprinted over to his sensei, a desperate look on his face.

"Sensei!" he all but shouted. "This is a huge mistake! My grades are fine! I don't need a tutor! Honest!" the teacher shook his head from side to side, a slightly amused smile on his lips.

"Your grades would say otherwise, Kuroba-san." His teacher said, "I'm not the only one that's worried about your progress, you know." His warm smile turned into a concerned frown. "Your grades have been steadily going down for the past few months. Your other teachers and I finally decided that it was time that you got extra help from someone."

"But why Hakuba?" Kaito cried, grabbing his head in distress. "Why not Aoko? Or Koizumi-kun even! Can't I work with one of them instead? Just anyone but Hakuba!" Kaito's sensei scowled lightly, disappointment written on his face.

"I'm surprised by your reaction to all this, Kuroba-san. Hakuba-san is taking the time out of his busy schedule to help you pick up your grades." The teacher said calmly despite the look he was giving the thief. "Besides, Hakuba has the highest grades in the class and will prove to be an excellent choice as your tutor." Kaito opened his mouth to protest once more, but the teacher held up his hand, silencing the boy. "I'll hear no more complaining from you, Kuroba-san. Hakuba-san is to be your tutor and that's final. Good day." And with that said, the teacher left, leaving Kaito all alone to mull over what had just occurred.

He was screwed. No two ways about it. Hakuba was no doubt going to use this time alone to his advantage and try to get information out of the Kaitou. Or, at the very least, Hakuba would notice something that would give the thief's secret away. Either sounded horrible to Kaito.

Really now, this was being blown way out of proportion! His grades weren't that bad! Maybe he missed a homework assignment here, and got a D on a test there, but that was no reason for him to have a tutor! Kaito just couldn't really concentrate on his studies at the moment. Being threatened by an evil organization would do that to you.

Kaito sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. Well, if he was being forced to work with Hakuba, he'd make it a living hell for the other. Maybe if he pulled enough pranks during the study sessions, Hakuba would either give up or not notice the small things about Kaito that he usually did.

The thief snorted. Yeah right! Like that would ever happen! Hakuba never gave up on anything and he always noticed everything. As Kaito had stated earlier, he was screwed.

The thief made his way over to his desk to put his things away just as Shinichi appeared on the desk in front of the thief.

_Maybe this won't be so bad?_ The boy asked, titling his head to the side. _Maybe Hakuba really is interested in helping you with your grades? He already pesters you enough as it is. Maybe this'll be a break?_ Kaito shook his head as he tugged his bag over one shoulder.

"I doubt it. When Hakuba wants answers, he'll stop at nothing to get them." Kaito said. He looked outside, looking up at a bird that was perched on a tree just outside the classroom. Kaito wrapped an arm around his stomach, hunching his shoulders in a vain attempt at making himself smaller. "Hakuba'll keep digging until it's too late… And I won't let that happen… Not again…" Kaito said, shutting his eyes tightly as he turned and began to walk out of the classroom. "If I lost Hakuba too… I don't know what I'd do…"

Shinichi watched as Kaito left the room, slowly making his way after the teen. A worried look was plastered on his face as he stared at Kaito's hunched shoulders.

_There's only so much more pushing that you can take, Kaito-kun…_ Shinichi said sadly as he slowly began to fade away. _I just hope someone pulls you back before you're pushed over the edge…_

* * *

Hakuba couldn't help but grin as he made his way out of Edoka High. This was the chance he'd been waiting for. Finally he'd be able to confront Kuroba about what was going on. Of course he would have to help Kaito with his work a bit, he did promise their teacher after all, but still! Kaito couldn't get away from him easily this time. Hakuba was finally going to get his answers.

Of course, however, the half Brit didn't expect to get answers right away. He'd have to approach Kaito slowly and carefully if he wanted all of his questions answered. He didn't want to push for information too hard. If he did, there was no doubt that Kaito would tighten his grip on the information more. Hakuba sighed. Why did things have to be so complicated when it came to the thief?

"Saguru-kun?" Hakuba jumped slightly at the voice and turned on his heel to see who was addressing him. The blond raised an eyebrow upon seeing Akako there. "You were made Kaito-kun's new tutor, correct Saguru-kun?" she asked seemingly innocently. Hakuba stared at her skeptically, trying to figure out what the witch was thinking.

"Did Lucifer tell you that, Koizumi-kun?" Hakuba asked, still staring down the smaller girl. An amused smile appeared on Akako's lips, closing her eyes as she turned her head to the side.

"No. I overheard you talking to Kaito-kun." She answered honestly. Hakuba blinked, not expecting that. A slight tint of pin appeared on his cheeks in embarrassment.

"Sou ka…" Hakuba said, coughing into a fist in a vain attempt to hide his humiliation. "Anyways, I am indeed Kuroba-kun's new tutor." He confirmed. "Why do you ask, Koizumi-kun?" the blond questioned, tilting his head to the side slightly. A frown made its way onto the witch's lips, causing Hakuba's worry to increase.

"I just wanted to warn you, Saguru-kun," Akako said, gaining a slightly dazed look. "There's a…dark cloud surrounding Kaito-kun. And everyday it seems to only grow darker. I fear that if Kaito-kun doesn't find his light soon, that darkness will take him completely." Akako clutched her hands to her chest as she looked up at Hakuba, a slight pleading look in her eyes. "So please, Saguru-kun, make sure that darkness doesn't consume him until he finds his light again." She finished softly.

"Wha…?" Hakuba stared at Akako, a number of emotions appearing on his face "How am I supposed to do that? And what do you mean by darkness and light?" he asked, his mind already working over time to figure out this new riddle. Akako smiled sadly, still holding her hands to her chest.

"Just don't push him too hard, Saguru-kun." She said after a moment. "Because you can only push so much until there's nothing left to push." Sadness flashed in her eyes, but she quickly closed them and turned around, beginning to walk away from the blond detective. "I hope you take this warning to heart, Saguru-kun." She said over her shoulder.

Hakuba stared at her retreating back, trying to figure out something, _anything_ the witch meant. "Matte!" he called after her. "What do you mean 'nothing left to push'?" The blond got no answer, however, and his shoulders slumped as he let out a long and tired sigh. "What in the world could she mean by 'find his light'? I wish she'd stop speaking in riddles." Sighing once more, Hakuba began his trek home again, the gears inside his head reeling.

Darkness…darkness…what could that witch mean by this? It wasn't some supernatural thing, was it? No of course not. She would have taken care of it if it was. But if it wasn't supernatural, what could this so called darkness be? Hakuba brought his hand to his chin as he continued to think, going over every possibility. Negative emotions? That might be it… The thief had looked depressed for a while now…

Wait…

Not only depressed…but stressed out as well. Hakuba stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening as realization smacked into him.

Stress! That must be the darkness that Akako had warned him about! "Don't push him too hard." The witch had said. Don't increase his stress level. It made perfect sense, now that the blond thought about it. When someone was stressed out, it was only a matter of time until that person broke down under the pressure of the stress and lost themselves for a little while, before the stress dissipated.

But with the way the thief had been acting as of late…Hakuba was sure that if Kaito reached his stress limit, he would not so easily be able to get back onto his feet. The half Brit cursed as he began to walk again. He'd have to take great precaution when around the thief. It was obvious that Kaito was extremely stressed out by some unknown cause, and Hakuba didn't wish to make that stress level increase. He could still question the magician about certain things… but he'd have to take great care in his wording.

That left another part of the riddle unsolved, though. What was this light that Akako had mentioned? It couldn't be simply finding and getting rid of the source of Kaito's stress. That would be way too easy. Plus, with the way Akako had said things, he doubted that was the answer anyways.

What else could this so called light be then? Hakuba dismissed the thought of it being magic or thieving. The thief had continued to do both, and both rarely seemed to make him happy at all anymore. No it was something much deeper…Something that meant a lot to Kaito…Was the younger teen's whole world, probably. But if it wasn't magic, and it wasn't thieving, then what could it be—

Kudo.

That light had to be Kudo Shinichi. It just _had _to be. From what Hakuba knew, Kaito had been perfectly fine up until the time when the Detective of the East up and disappeared. Surely if he could find Kudo, then Kaito's stress level would decrease…right?

It did make sense, after all. Kaito blamed himself for what happened to Kudo. So, if the detective was found, it would give Kaito closure about his disappearance. Hakuba didn't believe for a second everything would be fixed once Shinichi was found, however, Kaito's problem ran much deeper than a single missing detective. But maybe, just _maybe_ the Heisei Holmes would be able to help Kaito get back onto his feet and away from this so called dark cloud. It may not be much, but if he could find Shinichi, things might become less complicated around the thief.

With new found vigor, Hakuba sprinted the rest of the way home, planning on doing quite a bit of research on one Kudo Shinichi.

* * *

**A/N**: Uh oh! :O Hakuba is starting to figure this shit out! Oh well~ Hopefully our favorite magician will get the help he needs ;D Maybe~ But will Hakuba be able to figure out what happened to Shinichi before it's too late? :O Hell if I'm gonna tell you ;D

Hope you guys enjoyed! ^^ It was a little longer than the last chapter or two, so I hope you liked that :P Sorry if I missed any typos. It's one AM and I'm tired -.-;

Review please~ ;D Let me know what you think~

~Angel~


	13. Homecoming

_Anonymous Review Replies:_

_cR7: oh yes I can keep my fans waiting and I did~ here's your update~_

_Lizard: 8D It's okay~ You're reviewing now so you are forgiven~ :3 And I love that you reviewed 8D Yes he is D: He needs to stop being emo (and very sophisticated since I'm preeeeetty sure I say that about everything and stuff. ;D) Psh. If Hei-Kun can came down Shin-chan will probs get his revenge ;D Oh god that'd be fun to write… Here's your update! 8D_

_ThePirateMage: Conan-kun's being a ninja and hiding somewhere in my mind at the moment XP And yes! I like him too! 8D He was actually being nice and letting me write him shit :P (He's usually a bitch to write for D: I usually struggle with scenes with him. This one I didn't 8D)_

**A/N:** Ohaidere! X3 Dai's off being a nerdy gamer somewhere so she didn't edit this D: Oh well~ I actually got to sleep in today so I'm not as out of it as I usually am! 8D And I'm majorly excited! X3 Anime Boston's next weekend! 8D I can't wait to go~ (I am aware that it's a holiday weekend but fuck that. –bad Christian is bad-) I'm going as Kaitou Kid x3 Dai-chan as Shin-chan~ (mine sucks though since I've been busy with work and I just improvised like half of the costume -w- uggggh. Oh well)

Enough about my life :P Here's your new chapter~ How you like it~ ;D

**Disclaimer: **If I owned DC or MK I wouldn't have to be working at a restaurant and working my ass off -.-

* * *

**Chapter 12: **Homecoming

A sigh escaped his lips as he continued to walk home, keeping his shoulders hunched and clutching his bag tightly. Indigo eyes traveled up to the sky, noticing how clouds were quickly rolling in. Hunching his shoulders closer to his body, Kaito picked up the pace. He was not in the mood to get soaked today. At least the weather fit his mood currently.

As soon as Kaito had bolted from school, he had planned on using the better part of the afternoon to come up with pranks to try and get Hakuba off his back about the whole tutor thing. But as his walk home progressed, Kaito found his energy quickly leaving him, and was no longer up to trying to come up with clever schemes.

This was extremely horrible. Hakuba was going to be in serious danger if he stuck around the magician too much. It had taken all of Kaito's will to not yell at the detective back at school, telling him to mind his own damn business. But, that would have resulted in more questions that Kaito refused to answer. So he instead opted for holding his tongue.

_You know, Kaito-kun._ Shinichi said, appearing in front of Kaito as he walked backwards, his hands behind his head. _You're missing something really big here that I feel would help your situation greatly. _Kaito stared at Shinichi a few moments before snorting slightly, shrugging his bag further onto his shoulder.

"What, pre-tell, am I missing, oh great detective?" Kaito asked, raising a curious eyebrow at Shinichi. "Because from where I'm standing, I'm not missing anything about this situation. Except how to get Hakuba to back the hell off." The transparent boy clicked his tongue as he shook his head from side to side, waving his index finger at the boy.

_What you are missing, my dear magician, is that Hakuba was assigned to be your tutor because of your low grades and lack of attention to your school work._ Kaito stared at the boy like he was an idiot. Shinichi rolled his eyes as he continued. _You're extremely smart, Kaito. With Hakuba helping you concentrate on your school work, your grades will be back to what they once were quickly. You just need someone to help motivate you to work and help you concentrate is all._ Kaito's eyes widened as he heard the words coming out of the detective's mouth.

"So…what you're saying is that so long as my grades get back up, I'll no longer need Hakuba to help me work?" the thief asked, earning a nod from Shinichi. Punching at the air, a wide smile made its way onto Kaito's lips. "Yes! This'll be much easier than I thought! Arigatou, Shin-chan!" Kaito cheered as he picked up his pace, his street coming into view. Shinichi let out a warm chuckle as he disappeared, leaving the thief alone to whatever antics his new-found energy brought him too.

Kaito was relieved, to the point where he could almost say he was _happy_. All he had to do was work hard on his assignments and bring his grades up, and Hakuba would no longer be in danger! And his secrets would be safe a little longer. So long as he did his work quickly, Hakuba might not be in any danger at all. Ah! That was one crisis averted!

Upon reaching his street, Kaito's cheery mood quickly turned south. He stopped dead in his tracks as he looked around the street, his indigo orbs catching just about everything that there was to see. Something was horribly off about the street at the moment, and Kaito didn't like the feel of it at all. Trying to ignore the feeling as best he could, Kaito began to walk down his street, heading straight for his house.

The closer the thief got to his home, the more that feeling increased. Kaito swallowed thickly, having a very good idea as to why that was. Soon, he was standing just outside his house, and the off feeling only grew stronger. Yup. It was exactly what he thought it was. Taking in a large gulp of air, Kaito began his walk towards his front door, hunching his shoulders as close to his body as he could. Why, of all days, did he have to come now?

Pulling out his keys, Kaito sighed as he slowly opened his door, his body tensing and preparing for the pain that he was sure would come soon.

And not a second later, the door the thief had just walked through slammed shut, and his body crashed into the wall right next to it. Despite having prepared for the collision, Kaito hissed in pain, closing his eyes tightly. He refused to look at his assailants' eyes, at least not yet.

"Well well…" A sickly innocent voice said, causing Kaito to finch as he attempted to bring his shoulders into himself. The grip on his shoulder only tightened, causing Kaito to gasp in pain, his eyes closing tighter. "From what I hear, you'll be spending more time with a certain detective…I do hope, for his sake, that this is not true, Kaito-kun…" Snake purred. The magician swallowed the lump that was in his throat and slowly looked up at Snake, prying his eyes open and forcing his gaze to meet Snake's.

"Y-you heard right…S-Snake-sama…" Kaito said fearfully, quickly seeing the anger flash in the others intense gaze. Snake's grip once more tightened on Kaito's shoulders, the assassins nails beginning to dig into the shoulder. Biting his tongue to hold back a cry of pain, Kaito quickly spoke up. "D-Demo! I have a plan! I-I can get rid of him as my tutor q-quickly! I promise!" He said, raising his hands in defense. Snake's eyes narrowed, his vice grip loosening ever so slightly. Kaito mentally sighed in relief as he felt the nails retreating from his skin.

"And how do you plan on doing this, Kaito-kun?" Snake said, the hatred in his voice mixed with curiosity. Kaito swallowed, beads of sweat beginning to fall down his temple. It was moments like this that he was truly thankful for Shinichi.

"I j-just have to pick up my grades! T-that won't take long! I-I've just been slacking a bit when it comes to work! I'll have my grades up in no time and Hakuba won't be needed to tutor me anymore! Honest!" Kaito said quickly, silently praying that Snake believed him. The hit man stared at Kaito long and hard, his grey eyes boring into Kaito's. The thief held back a shiver as he stared right back, feeling small and insignificant under the other's gaze. Please oh _please_ let Snake believe him…

After a few moments, Snake pulled the other back, and then slammed him into the wall, causing Kaito to cry out in pain and slowly fall to the floor, holding his throbbing head. Snake backed up, still glaring at the teenager before him.

"Three weeks. You have three weeks to fix the problem _you _caused before we step in and take matters into our own hands. Got it?" He barked, causing Kaito to shy away from him and nod feebly. "Good. We'll be watching to make sure you keep your word." And with that said, Snake turned and disappeared into the house, no doubt making his leave.

Waiting a few moments to make sure that Snake truly had left, Kaito let his body slump against the wall, a sigh crossing his lips. Three weeks would be plenty of time, with the right amount of focus.

The thief closed his eyes and lightly hit his head against the wall behind him. He'd have to take great care in how he acted around Hakuba during these sessions. Who knew what conclusions Hakuba would draw from even the smallest of body movements, let alone facial expressions? Kaito knocked his head against the wall once more. Yes, he'd have to be much more careful. If not, well…

Kaito hit his head against the wall harder this time before quickly standing up and headed toward the couch. He wasn't going to think about "what if"s in this situation. He wasn't about to let yet another detective mysteriously disappear because of his stupid mistakes. He'd keep Hakuba at arm's length during the tutor sessions if it killed him.

Finally reaching the couch, Kaito flopped down onto the cushions just in time to hear rain start to crash against the window just above him. Kaito slowly took in a long breath, letting it out steadily as he closed his eyes, willing his body to at least start to relax. Maybe if he had just a quick nap he'd feel calmer, and could plan for a prank, work on his homework, do _something_ productive. But, the blissfulness of sleep didn't claim Kaito as quickly as he would have liked, and he was forced to let his mind wander all over the place.

Firstly, there was the Hakuba problem. Saying he'd be able to keep calm around the blond detective, and actually doing it were completely different things. Hopefully Shinichi was right and Hakuba would concentrate more on helping him with his work than questioning him. Kaito knew that it was hopeless to think the detective wouldn't ask him about something, but he could at least wonder if Hakuba would light up while they were working. And if Hakuba did ask about what was going on again, Kaito could either distract Hakuba with a problem, or make up some excuse. So long as it wasn't the truth Kaito was safe for a little longer.

Then there was the issue of Kaito's grades not being picked up in this three week period he had. It was a slim window of chance, but it was still higher than it should have been. Kaito was sure he could at least pick up his grades just enough, but he didn't even want to think of taking that chance. The magician was positive that the Organization would do something drastic if Hakuba was not gotten rid of in an orderly fashion. Mentally shaking his head, Kaito let his mind wander to something else, no longer wanting to think of the risks he was putting Hakuba in.

And what better distraction than thoughts of a certain Chibi-Tantei?

The thief hadn't seen Conan for a few days and felt that he should be rather grateful for that. But instead, the thief felt rather anxious, questioning where the midget was and what he was up to. Was he spying on Kaito right at this very moment? Was he conversing with Snake about his new tutor? What was that little devil doing right now that would probably make Kaito's life a living hell?

Kaito sighed and rolled over onto the couch, his back facing the room. Even thinking about that little bastard caused Kaito's heart to ache. Someone so small was so…evil. Kaito hated it.

After finding out that Conan was in fact with the organization, Kaito went digging, trying to find evidence to back up the theory. He looked everywhere, legal documents, birth certificate, passport, anything at all that would help. But nothing turned up. Not even the smallest little thing.

It was like Edogawa Conan didn't even exist.

Oddly enough, this information proved that Conan was involved with the organization. If information on people from a secret organization was easily accessed, it wouldn't be a very good secret organization now would it?

The organization aside, why was Conan so…friendly with Mouri Ran and Mouri Kogorou? Indeed, he had only seen those two once, but it was enough for the Kaitou. The chibi had acted so naturally around the father and daughter, like he had known them his whole short life. Maybe they were in the organization with Conan…?

Kaito quickly threw that theory out the window. Despite being a drunk and short tempered man, Kogorou was still in the police force. And no matter how secret the organization was, the police would surely have seen something shady going on if one of their detectives suddenly acted differently.

Also, the so called Sleeping Detective didn't seem like the secret organization type to Kaito. Being in a group like that you had to be clever, seeing everything all the time…

Not a drunk that could barely see two obvious clues in front of him.

As for Ran, Kaito had doubts about her as well. If her father wasn't one of the organization, there was a slim chance she was in it. Even if Kogorou was indeed a moron, even he would notice if his daughter was up to illegal stuff. Especially with him being a detective. Plus, there was way too much information that Kaito was able to find on Ran. And from what he'd seen so far, all information on the members of the organization were impossible to find.

But…If both Ran and Kogorou were not in the organization, why was Conan so friendly and comfortable around them? Why was it like those three were…were…were such a family?

Kaito's thoughts were interrupted, however, as a clicking noise sounded throughout the otherwise silent house. The thief's heart rate picked up. Who would be trying to gain entrance to his house?

Aoko said she had plans to go to the mall with some friends today, Hakuba was probably off planning something for tomorrow afternoon, and his mother was off on some trip somewhere. Kaito had made sure that his mother was gone for a while, he didn't want her involved anymore than she already was in his problems, after all.

So who the hell was trying to get into his house?

Another click was heard as the lock came undone and the door swung open, a cold breeze bursting in. Soon, the door was slammed shut, and grumbled flowed to Kaito's ears. The thief strained his hearing, trying to tell by sound alone whom had just walked in. The grumbling continued as the sound of an umbrella closing, as well as the sound of shoes being taken off.

"Stupid storm…" The person mumbled. Kaito blinked. He recognized that voice… "Now…Where could Bocchama be?" Bocchama? There was only one person who called Kaito that…

Konosuke Jii walked further into the room, letting out a sigh as he looked around the darkened house. "Really now…" He said through a sigh. "Bocchama should really learn to turn on at least one light. This house is way too dark." Jii walked over to a lamp and turned it on, causing Kaito to flinch slightly and close his eyes from the sudden light. "Now… Shall I go up and see Bocchama or make him some dinner first…" Jii mumbled to himself. Kaito had to hold back a snort. He appreciated the thought, truly he did, but he didn't need Jii taking care of him like this.

Before Jii could make up his mind, however, his eyes scanned over the living room and landed on Kaito's form. The elder didn't say anything, but made his way over to Kaito instead. The thief, however, didn't acknowledge that he had heard Jii come in, and instead opted for pretending to sleep. Jii sighed as he stood above Kaito, staring down at his beloved Bocchama. Really now, why pretend to sleep in front of Jii of all people? The boy was like his own flesh and blood, after all.

"Bocchama, I know that you are awake." Jii said, his voice sounding more tired than he felt. The elder than noticed the slight tensing in the other's body language, but the magician refused to turn around or say anything. "Bocchama…" Jii said slowly, wanting to talk to Kaito, all thoughts of making the other dinner gone from his mind. When Jii still received no answer, a small smirk appeared on his lips. "If you do not sit up I shall get a fish, Bocchama."

At those words, Kaito sat straight up, his face pale and his eyes wide. He stared at Jii in complete shock, his mouth open and closing multiple times. Jii couldn't help but chuckle at his young master's antics. His fear of fish was pretty amusing, after all. Kaito however, didn't find any humor in the situation and pouted at his grandfather figure, his shoulders slumping.

"That wasn't fair, Jii-chan." Kaito said, his voice a tad bit whiney. "You know how I feel about f-f-f-…Those finny things!" Kaito exclaimed, looking away in slight embarrassment. Another chuckle escaped Jii's lips as he shook his head from side to side.

"Gomen, Bocchama, but I had to get your attention somehow." Kaito blinked innocently as he looked up at the older man.

"Why did you want my attention, Jii-chan?" Kaito asked despite already guessing the answer. Jii sighed and let his shoulders slump, a sad air suddenly surrounding him.

"You know why, Bocchama." Kaito tensed at the answer. Yup. Just as he thought. "Why don't you let me help you on heists anymore? Why do you keep insisting that you don't need help at home either? I am truly worried about you, Bocchama." Kaito sighed and looked away from Jii, no longer able to meet his gaze.

"I don't want to put you in danger, Jii-chan." Kaito informed after a few tense moments. "And plus," Kaito said, a weak and teasing smile on his lips as he looked in the other's direction. "You are getting on in years. Can't have your hip breaking while I'm trying to escape, now can I?" Jii huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared ever so slightly down at his young master.

"I may be old, but I can still help out Kaitou Kid when it really counts, Bocchama. Besides," his shoulders slumped once more, his arms uncrossing and falling to his sides. "Your dear mother has informed me that you've been insisting her to stay on trips for a while now." Kaito's eyes widened as he stared at Jii.

"…You've been talking to Kaa-san?" Kaito said, slightly surprised. Jii nodded guilty, looking away from Kaito for a moment.

"I know you made me promise not to talk to her about any of this… but I couldn't help myself, Bocchama. She does have a right to know, after all." Kaito continued to stare at Jii in shock, his indigo eyes widening ever so slightly.

"…What did you tell her? What did you say?" Kaito asked after a few seconds of staring.

"That you were not yourself, Bocchama, and that you have everyone greatly worried." Jii informed, finally looking back at Kaito. Kaito stared at Jii for a few moments, his mind running a mile a minute while he thought through this new information.

So…his mother knew that something was up now, did she? Kaito felt that he had done a pretty decent job of keeping his mother in the dark, as well as off and around the world and away from Ekoda. Convincing her to leave him all alone for this long of a time hadn't been an easy feat, but he'd done it. Wait a second…

"What did she say, exactly?" He asked slowly, his eyes narrowing. Jii fidgeted with his hands under his young master's gaze, having expected such a question after informing the boy of the conversation with his mother. Jii raised one of his hands and coughed into a fist, not daring a look at Kaito. "…Jii-chan…" Kaito said slowly, as if warning Jii of what he would do if the other didn't tell Kaito what his mother had said.

"…She said she would come straight home, to see for herself what was going on…" Jii said, back to fidgeting with his hands. Kaito's eyes widened as he dived for the house phone, about ready to call his mother and convince her to stay away. "It is no use, Bocchama." Jii said, looking out the window, guilt welling up in his stomach. "She is probably already on her way here as I speak. There is no stopping that woman when she gets a thought inside her head." Jii said, sighing once more.

Kaito slowly lowered the phone, letting the new information sink in. His mother was coming home, to their house, where Snake had a habit of showing up at random times. A shiver ran down Kaito's spine at the thought of his mother being all alone in a house with that man. This was beyond horrible, this was a catastrophe! Maybe he could convince his mother to leave after showing her that he was indeed fine…

Kaito shook his head from side to side. Like hell that was going to work. His mother was more stubborn than he. One look at Kaito and his mother wouldn't leave his side for a second. He was screwed. His mother was going to be in danger, and it was all his fault.

This was why he had insisted she stay away in the first place! She was safer away from him, safer out of the country! Kaito closed his eyes tightly, willing away the images of his mother hurt, or even worse…

Biting his lip and trying to block out the world around him, Kaito began to make his way up towards his room, needing to think about all of this.

"Bocchama? Are you alright…?" Jii asked, taking a step toward Kaito. But the words never reached Kaito's ears, the thief's mind wandering to his current problem. Jii couldn't help but watch the distraught teen make his way up to his room, no doubt. Jii let out a sigh as he stared after his young master a few more moments, pondering if he should go upstairs and attempt to comfort the troubled teen.

Eventually deciding that it would be best to comfort Kaito after the teen had some time alone with his thoughts, Jii instead made his way into the kitchen to make something for Kaito. He knew full well that Kaito wasn't going to be able to make anything for himself in his current state of mind.

One thing Jii was most confused about, however, was why Kaito had reacted the way he had. Jii had figured that Kaito wouldn't exactly be excited that his mother was on her way home, not with the way he had been acting recently. But to get completely depressed by the news? This was something the older man had not expected at all. He'd be sure to question the thief on it later, despite knowing that he wouldn't get the answers that he craved.

Letting his shoulders slump once more, Jii began to make something that would hopefully cheer up the thief, at least a little.

Meanwhile, Kaito had finally reached his room, his mind still far away from what his body was doing. There had to be something, _anything_ he could say to his mother that would keep her away from this whole mess. Kaito wasn't going to give up until he knew the perfect way to keep her safe.

Upon walking into his room, Shinichi appeared, sitting cross-legged on his bed, a look of sheer worry on his face.

_You know…_ Shinichi started. _This might be a blessing in disguise. Who knows? Maybe Snake will find some other way to get his messages to you now that your mother will be home. Or maybe he'll just do it when she's out or something?_ Shinichi offered, trying to come up with any and all solutions that he could.

The see-through detective's words were spoken on deaf ears, however, as Kaito's body worked on auto pilot, his mind miles away. The thief walked over to the painting of his father and stared at for a few moments, not registering that Shinichi had said anything, or was even there.

Raising a hand, Kaito touched the spot on the painting that activated the trap door, and walked through the door, letting it shut with a slight _whoosh_ behind him.

Shinichi frowned as he watched all this progress from the bed, wanting nothing more than to help the discouraged thief. Letting out a sigh, Shinichi disappeared, planning on coming back when the thief was much more aware of his surroundings than he currently was.

* * *

**A/N**: Baw! D: Poor Kai-chan! I just can't be nice to him, can I? XD –shot- Anyways I'm glad how this one turned out, plus how long it was 8D nine pages on word. Woo! What's gonna happen know that Chikage's on her way home? :O Will she be safe? Or will mean ol Snake do something? Gonna have to wait ;D Sorreh!

Enjoy your Easter (if you celebrate it) and see you guys in two weeks! ;D

Review please!

~Angel~


	14. Mother Knows Best

_Anonymous review replies:_

_: 8D one word: thanks! …That's… basically what that Shinichi is xD you'll find out exactly in a few chapters~ ;D and yes it does! Here's more insanity for you :3_

_Lizard: woo! 8D Here's another one for you too! And yes he does have many problems D; Someone needs to hit him over the head so he realizes that Conan is not in the organization! –huff- xD There may be more Hei-kun here soon~ Gotta wait to find out~ Here's your update! :3 just a wittle late D;_

**A/N**: yeah yeah I know I'm late Dx I ended up working Sunday night, which made me space on posting (I almost never work on Sunday's and when I do it screws me over for a lot of stuff) then Monday I had planned on writing a bit, but ended up getting called in to work Dx I would have written/posted that night but… yeah not going into that. Then yesterday and today I was home sick. Still pretty sick but I wanted to do SOMETHING today -.-; Plus it's Shin-chan's birthday today ;D So why not post on our favorite chibi detectives birthday?

Anyways here's your chapter. X.x Imma go sleep… for a week. (diediediedie)

**Disclaimer:**I own plot and that's it! All rights go to what's his face in Japan.

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**Chapter 13: Mother Knows Best**

"Wow…I never knew you were so good with physics…"

"Hey. I need to know something to defy it, right?"

"…This is quite true. Anyways, shall we move onto the history now?"

"You mean work on the worksheet about how Hitler easily captured France in six weeks, then began to try and conquer Russia, only for winter to hit and for the Germans to have to retreat because of the cold?"

"…Why do you need help again?"

"Ask sensei."

"I did. And he said you were failing."

"Because I am failing."

"But why? You understand everything pretty clearly."

"Because it's boring~!"

Hakuba sighed slowly as he hit his hand to his head. Kaito couldn't be making this job any more difficult. Well, that was a lie. At least he was doing the work. He just needed someone to sit down with him and force him to do the assignments.

"It may be boring, Kuroba-kun, but you still have to do the work. If you had done that in the first place, we wouldn't be here right now."

"We could not be here right now if you stop being my tutor." Kaito said, rolling his eyes. "I told both you and sensei, I don't need the help."

"Your grades say otherwise." Hakuba said, staring the other down.

"Like I said, I get bored. I do well on all the tests, I just don't do the work that goes with it. And since I usually space out in class, my participation goes down as well. So, I don't need you as my tutor." Kaito said with a cheeky grin slowly beginning to make its way onto his face.

"Until sensei says otherwise, I'm your tutor. Deal with it. Now get back to work." Hakuba said, shoving the history worksheet in front of Kaito.

_I thought you were just going to grin and bear it until your grades got back up?_ Shinichi said, appearing on Kaito's side. The thief quickly cast a glare towards the see-through detective, who smirked. _What? No witty comment? No argument with my unflawed logic? Oh wait~ You can't because if you do Hakuba'll get worried. Guess you just have to listen to me._ Kaito scowled and glared at Shinichi one last time before beginning to write down the answers on the paper.

God damn snobby detective.

Hakuba stared at Kaito intently, noticing that Kaito sent glares to nothing but air twice. That was the second time the blond had seen Kaito glare at nothing. Hakuba looked to where Kaito had been glaring, only to see nothing. Hakuba leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head as a cocky smirk appeared on his lips. Kaito was actually making progress on work, and not actually causing a huge scene, trying to avoid not doing it. Hakuba had been full-on prepared to duct tape the magician to his chair to get his work done.

But, minus a few whines about not needing a tutor or any other help, Kaito was actually listening to him, and letting him explain something when Kaito was confused. This tutor thing was off to a great start, and the blond could only hope that it would stay like this.

Seeing as how Kaito was distracted with his work for the moment, Hakuba took a few moments to let his eyes look over the other.

Hakuba recalled this morning when Kaito had walked in the thief had a sort of defeated look, as if he had just heard the most horrible news in the world. But as the day progressed, and Kaito talked to himself during class, (more like mumbling, really. Hakuba had not been able to catch one world the thief had said to himself) that look of utter defeat had steadily dispersed from his eyes. Hakuba could still tell that there was an underlining fear still lingering in his orbs, but Hakuba had grown rather used to that over the last three months. However, Kaito's eyes only revealed determination right now, causing Hakuba to blink. Was the thief really that determined to get rid of him that badly?

Filing that thought away for later, Hakuba continued to look over the thief.

The defined bags under Kaito's eyes seemed to have diminished slightly, meaning that the thief had gotten at least some sleep the night before. Hakuba also took note that Kaito seemed to have more energy today than he had for a little while, possibly meaning that Kaito had had a decent sized meal the night before, and that had given him a slight boost of energy. Realizing what both of those things meant, Hakuba blinked.

Was there someone taking care of Kaito right now?

Was his mother? Hakuba quickly scrapped that thought. Kaito had claimed that his mother had been on extended vacation for a while, and wouldn't be back any time soon. Hakuba had suspected that the thief was lying, but quickly dismissed that thought when Aoko confirmed that indeed, Kuroba-san was without a doubt on a long vacation.

Perhaps Aoko? No…It couldn't have been her. She would have been mothering him all day at school as well, not just at home. Granted she had begun to force Kaito to eat _something_ during lunch period, but that wasn't enough to be considered mothering in Hakuba's book.

If it wasn't either of those two, who the hell was taking care of the troubled teen?

"…uba…Hakuba!"

"Nani?" Hakuba jumped, not having realized that Kaito had said anything. "What did you say, Kuroba-kun?" he asked. Kaito rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair, irritation crossing his facial features.

"And you say I should pay attention more…" Kaito mumbled before clearing his throat. "I was saying that I finished the history homework, and was asking if we were done. We already finished the math and the English, and we just finished the physics, chemistry and history. So are we done?" he asked, hope in his voice. But to his dismay, Hakuba shook his head from side to side.

"From what sensei said, you still have a lot of work to make up. If you get that done and turn it in, you'll at least get partial credit, and that'll help your grades."

_Hakuba does have a point, Kaito._ Shinichi piped in, now currently sitting on a desk. _If you turn in that work and your grades go up more, you'll get rid of your tutor faster._ Kaito sighed and leaned forward, putting his head in his hand.

"But that sounds like work!" Kaito whined, giving Hakuba the puppy eyes.

"Don't care." Hakuba said firmly. "You're doing it."

Before Kaito had a chance to retaliate, however, a loud shrill noise caused both boys to jump. Reaching into his pocket, Kaito pulled out his cell phone, opening it and putting the device to his ear, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Moshi moshi?" Kaito said.

"Kai-chan!" the voice on the other end of the phone cried, causing Kaito to cringe and pull the phone away from his ear a good arms length. "I've missed you so much! I can't believe I let you talk me into leaving for such a long time! I feel horrible for leaving my little Kai-chan all alone for the longest time! But! I'm going to make up for it by making you all of your favorite foods tonight! And oh Kai-chan! The house is such a mess! There's pink and purple dye everywhere, and don't even get me started on all of those cards in the walls! Ooh but I can't stay mad at my little Kai-chan for long! You should hurry home and come see your Kaa-chan! I've missed you so much and-"

"Kaa-san! Kaa-san!" Kaito said, his face going red from embarrassment. Really now. Did she have to shout all of those things over the phone? "W-when did you get home?" Kaito asked, fear bubbling up in his stomach.

"Just now sweetie! You should hurry home! I've missed my little Kai-chan so much! Oh look! There's Jii! Come home soon, Kai-chan!" and with that, Kaito's mother hung up.

Kaito blinked and pulled the phone away from his ear, staring at the pink phone for a few moments, shock as well as confusion on his face. How'd she get home that fast? Last he heard, she was somewhere in Mexico. He had expected her tomorrow at the earliest. And how the hell could she have _that_ much energy? Did the women even get jet lagged?

"Looks like we do have to end early, after all." Hakuba said, sheer amusement on his lips. Kaito looked up and laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Sorry you had to hear that, Hakuba." Kaito said, pocketing his phone. "My Kaa-san is rather…eccentric." Hakuba couldn't help but chuckle lightly as he began to put away his stuff.

"It is quite alright…Kai-chan." He said with a smirk. Kaito flushed pink and glared at Hakuba, his eyes narrowing greatly. "We can pick up where we left off tomorrow after school. Seeing as how your dear Kaa-san wishes to see her little Kai-chan." That smirk only grew as Hakuba stood up, holding his bag under his arm. Kaito's face only grew brighter as he shoved his stuff into his bag.

"Don't you dare, Hakuba," Kaito said menacingly. "Forget you ever heard that from Kaa-san." Kaito stood up, lugging his bag over his shoulder. "Or you will regret it." Hakuba raised an eyebrow, noticing a glint in Kaito's eyes that Hakuba hadn't seen for a while.

"And what will you do if I don't forget it, Kai-chan?" Hakuba asked, a glint appearing in his own eyes. Kaito smirked and raised his hand, snapping his fingers before Hakuba had a second to react.

A puff of pink smoke covered the boys, causing Hakuba to cough slightly. Once the smoke died down, Hakuba looked down at himself, only for anger and mortification to show on his face. Bright red heels that went up to his knees were on his feet, and a draft notified the detective that he was currently wearing a skirt, a short blue mini skirt at that. Looking closely at his torso, Hakuba realized that the skirt was instead a leotard, blue for the skirt part, white for the torso, with a bright red ribbon just over his chest, and a blue sheer material covering his shoulders. Lifting his hands, he noticed that there were also elbow length white gloves on his arms. Feeling something on his neck, Hakuba reached up and felt what he thought was an upside down crescent moon choker on his neck. Reaching up to see if the thief had done anything to his hair, Hakuba realized that he currently had on a blond wig that had pigtails that went all the way down to his legs. A vain popped on his forehead as it dawned him who exactly he was meant to be.

"Sailor Moon?" Hakuba said, his eye beginning to twitch as well. "You're dead Kuroba-" Before he could finish his threat, however, Hakuba finally noticed that he was all alone in the room.

Kaito had escaped.

Hakuba cursed and lifted his hands up, about to rip off that damn blond wig…

Only for pain to erupt from his head. Hakuba's anger only increased when after a few more tugs, he realized that the wig was not going to come off easily.

That thief was dead.

* * *

Kaito couldn't help but cackle as he walked home, a wide grin on his lips. Oh it felt _great_ to prank Hakuba like that! He would surely be paying for that tomorrow, but it was well worth it. I mean seriously. Hakuba in a Sailor Moon outfit? With the blond wig stuck onto his head?

Honestly, Kaito would have paid to see that.

Hm. Maybe Kaito could turn his hair rainbow colored tomorrow? Maybe switch his uniform for a girl's one? Or turn his slippers into heels! Ooh the possibilities were endless!

And of course he couldn't forget little Aoko in his scheming. Give her a hair cut? …Not funny enough. She might even look cute, if Kaito was being honest with himself. Put balloons under her chair so they fly up and flip her skirt? Oh maybe dye her hair green and red maybe…

As Kaito's thoughts kept traveling around new ideas for pranks, he failed to notice that he had quickly reached his neighborhood, and soon enough his house. Opening his door, not even registering that the door was unlocked, Kaito dropped his bag onto the floor and slipped off his shoes. Still oblivious to his surroundings, Kaito didn't hear the hurried footsteps that made their way towards him till it was too late.

"Kai-chan!" Kaito's mother shouted, tackling her son to the ground in one massive hug. Chikage laughed as she hugged her son, who let out a slight groan of pain from the weight of his mother. "I'm so happy to see you! It's been forever since we've seen each other in person! Did you get taller? I think you did! Oh my little boy's growing up! But you'll always be my little Kai-chan! Did I ever tell you about the time you-"

"Kaa-san! Kaa-san!" Kaito said, gently trying to shove his mother off of him. "Slow down! It hasn't been that long since we've seen each other! Now can you… you know? Get off of me?" he asked, grinning weakly at his mother. She gasped and quickly stood up, dragging her son with her.

"Oh I'm sorry, Kai-chan! I was just so excited to see you! Aw! I forgot how cute you were!" she cried as she hugged him, careful as to not knock them down again. Kaito grunted lightly, but chuckled and hugged his mother back nonetheless. "Now! Let me see my boy up close!" Chikage said as she pulled away from Kaito. Her wide excited smile quickly turned into a scowl as her eyes traveled up and down the magician. "Kaito… have you been getting enough sleep? Have you even been eating right?" She asked, lifting up his uniform shirt and patting his stomach. Kaito cried out slightly, not having expected her to do that. He pulled away slightly and pulled his shirt down, rubbing the back of his head as he laughed nervously. "Kaito…" his mother said slowly.

"Ano…" Kaito said, still laughing nervously as sweat fell down his temple. "I guess I've been so busy on some pranks and coming up with new gags that I haven't been sleeping and eating right…?" Kaito cringed as the sentence came out as a question. Chikage narrowed her eyes at him, clearly not believing a word he just said. But, she sighed and grinned again and grabbed his wrist. "Gah!"

"Well! Let's get some food in you then, Kai-chan! I know just the thing!" and with that said, Chikage dragged her soon into the kitchen, where Jii was already in front of the stove, and forced her son into the chair.

Kaito sighed, but smiled weakly at his mother's actions. He was still worried about what was to come, but for now, it was great to see the insane woman that was his mother.

* * *

**A/N**: x.x there ya go. Hope the funny moments and lack of angst make up for the lateness. Btw Dx forgot to mention that Dai-chan did not reedit this bitch. And since I'm sick I'm pretttty sure there are some fails in there. If you see any lemme know! Anyways, like it? Hate it? ;D Love Chikage? (omg I died laughing writing that, and just re-died reading it over again)

Review please ;D I promise not to make it so late next time Dx

~Angel~


	15. Coming Into Focus

_Anonymous Review Replies: _

_Lizard: xD I hope he was happy! :P (I didn't even think about that till you mentioned it XD it did work out well that way, huh?) Well Shin-chan is an air head like that :P Seeing as how he has to concentrate on other stuff XD That's why Kai-chan remembers for him ;D Here's your long awaited update!_

_: haha. Omg I died laughing when I wrote that. I legit did. ...HAHAHA. Oh god. The image of Hakuba in pigtails is forever in my mind. Thank you for that. I hope the climax will be good ;) I've already started to write it out~ And I can't update faster :P Updating every two weeks works for me. And hey XP At least I'm updating at all~~ Sorry for the hiatus! Here's your new chapter :)_

**A/N**: OHAITHAR~ Sorry for the long wait XD;; I got sick right after I graduated, (hell I was sick DURING graduation -.-; ) So I spent that week in bed. Then… I got lazy. Don't judge me –sweatdrop- Anyways~ I got like, six new pages done in the past three days (would have been more but I worked all day yesterday Dx) and I snagged Dai-chan long enough to edit this bitch! ^.^~

**B/N**: Yeah...I'd make a serious comment, you know, think it out and all that. Only problem: I've gotten kind of caught up in my many stories and my newly discovered interest in Hetalia. Any fans? 8D Anyway, between DC and Hetalia, all my creativity is diverted to stories, so...yeah. Enjoy the next few cliffies! 8D

**A/N**: SHH! Don't spoil it! D8 Anyways~ This story is nearing it's close (…I think) And thus it's getting muuuuch more intense and angsty ;D What I wrote in the past few days just… You're all just gonna hate me ;D Anyways! Here's your chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 14: Coming Into Focus **

"Oh Kai-chan! Did you remember your tutor snacks? You know I made a few chocolate cup cakes for you! Oh and there's a juice box in there for you too! And don't forget to share with Guru-chan too! I made some biscuits for him as well! And I also put in some tea in a thermos for him!" Kaito sighed as he walked to the roof, his meeting place with Hakuba for studying. After three sessions with the thief, Hakuba had decided that it was much safer to do the sessions up on the roof rather than in a classroom, where Kaito could pull anything out from his desk and use it on the detective.

As Kaito walked down the hall many students turned their heads, wide smiles on their faces. Clearly Chikage's loud voice echoed throughout the busy hallways. Kaito laughed nervously, bending over his phone to try and muffle his mother's voice.

"Ne ne Kaa-san! I heard you this morning when you told me, and I got your fifteen text messages about it too. I'm not gonna forget!" Kaito sighed as he made his way up the stairs toward the roof, glad no more students could hear his mother's embarrassing words.

"I know, Kai-chan, I know! But you've been so spacey lately I just wanted to make sure that you don't forget a thing! Oh don't forget! I'm going out with Jii-chan tonight to meet up with some of Toichi's old friends, and we'll be out pretty late! I made you dinner already, and it's all wrapped up in the fridge for you to warm up! Don't get lonely while I'm out tonight, my adorable little Kai-chan! Be strong!" by then, Kaito had reached the top of the stairs and walked out onto the roof. Hakuba, who was already up there, walked over to Kaito and snatched the phone out of the thief's hand, much to Kaito's disdain.

"Don't worry about a thing, Kuroba-san! I'll take great care of our little Kai-chan, okay?" Hakuba said into the phone, smirking at Kaito the whole time. The thief reached for the phone, only for Hakuba to put his hand on Kaito's head and keep the boy an arms length away from him.

"Oh Guru-chan! I know I can trust you with Kai-chan! There are some snacks in Kaito's bag for you both! Make sure he eats all of his! I can make sure he eats at home, but you're in charge of him at school! Oops! There's Jii-chan! I gotta run! Bye Guru-chan! Have fun studying!" and with that, she hung up. Hakuba chuckled before he tossed Kaito's phone back to him.

"So, I hear that there are snacks for us, Kai-chan." Hakuba said, still grinning as he made his way over to the makeshift study area he had made. The thief huffed and pocketed his phone before following after the blond. Sitting down across from Hakuba, Kaito moved his bag away from the detective, who in turned raised an eyebrow. "Never learned to share, Kai-chan?"

"Since you insist on calling me Kai-chan, I'm not going to share." Kaito said, in full brat mode. "It's bad enough that you and Kaa-san teamed up against me at home, but now you're even teaming up against me at school too? That's sooo not fair." Hakuba chuckled again at Kaito's pout.

"It is not my fault that your mother is… unique, Kai-chan. And that nickname does seem to roll off the tongue…"

"So does Guru-chan." Kaito said, smirking as he tossed Hakuba the biscuits his mother had made. Hakuba easily caught them and opened the bag, a fond smile making its way onto his lips.

For the past week, ever since Chikage had arrived back home, Kaito's life had taken an… interesting turn. His tutoring sessions with Hakuba had been going surprisingly well. Kaito was getting his work done a lot faster than he thought he would be able to, and turned it all into their sensei. From what he heard from his teachers, his grades were quickly improving to what they had been months prior. This made Kaito grin. He wouldn't need Hakuba anymore soon.

But of course, the only reason that they had gotten so much of Kaito's work done so fast was because Kaito's mom had insisted they have sessions over at the Kuroba residence. This, naturally, resulted in Hakuba and Chikage meeting in person, much to Kaito's sheer annoyance. The two had hit it off too nicely for Kaito's taste, and thus Chikage was inviting Hakuba over every night, so that not only could they study more, but so that she could get to know Hakuba a little more.

Also, with his mother home, Kaito had been forced to eat on a regular basis, instead of skipping meals and opting for coming up with future tricks he would need for heists that Snake sent him on. Chikage also made Kaito go to bed at regular hours of the night, making sure her son got enough sleep each night. This caused the bags under Kaito's eyes to disappear, and his body to seem in much better shape than it had before Chikage arrived home.

Since Kaito was getting more rest, he was also less paranoid about when Snake would pop up. Luckily for him, Snake hadn't shown up since his little warning about Kaito's and Hakuba's tutoring sessions. Granted, that also meant that Kaito was overdue for a meeting with Snake, but Kaito also took not seeing the hit man as a good sign. It meant that the Organization wasn't worried about Kaito's mom being there, so she wasn't in any immediate danger.

"Kai-chan…? Kuroba-kun?"

"Huh?" Kaito blinked, not realizing he had spaced out. "Gomen gomen, Guru-chan! Guess my mind wandered off for a sec." Kaito said, rubbing the back of his head. Hakuba sighed as he took a bite out of his biscuit, glancing up at Kaito as he did so. Quickly swallowing, Hakuba shook his head, his lips turning upwards slightly.

"Did you even hear a word I just said, Kai-chan?" he asked. When all he got was a nervous laugh, Hakuba rolled his eyes. "What I was saying was that I talked to sensei during lunch today, and he thinks that it's okay for me to stop tutoring you. But if your grades start to slip again, even a tiny bit, we're to start meeting up again." Kaito's face lit up at this. So he didn't even need the other two weeks Snake had given him! This worked out perfectly! "Demo, I'd still like to meet one last time tomorrow, just to make sure you get your work done for the weekend, okay?" Kaito nodded, taking a bite out of one of his cupcakes. Might as well give in to Hakuba. He knew the other was going to force him to one last session no matter what he said.

Hakuba smiled lightly as Kaito agreed so quickly to spend one more afternoon with him. It wasn't so much that he wanted to make sure that Kaito kept at his work, it was more like he wanted to make sure that Kaito himself was alright. Over the last week Kaito had gotten… more… more like his old self. It seemed that with his mother home, Kaito was more alive than he had been in what felt like forever. The bags under his eyes were almost nonexistent, and he didn't look like he would fade away to nothing anymore. Naturally, there was still a slightly haunted look in Kaito's eyes, but Hakuba was glad at least that Kaito was better physically.

The fact that Kaito still had that look in his eyes proved that there was something much deeper going on than meets the eye. Despite Hakuba's light probing during their meetings, he still had no leads as to what was causing Kaito's distress. Oh well. With how friendly he and Chikage had become, he could also stop by the Kuroba's and see for himself how Kaito was.

"Anyways," Hakuba said, snapping Kaito out of whatever thought process he was stuck in. "Shall we get started?" Kaito nodded, taking one last bite of a cupcake before digging into his bag and pulling out his homework.

A couple of hours later, Kaito let out a loud sigh and leaned back, dropping his pen onto the rooftop. "There. Done. Can I go home now?" he asked. Hakuba chuckled as he began to put his things away as well.

"Fine, fine. I guess you do deserve it." Hakuba said with a light grin on his lips. "Shall we meet up here again tomorrow? Same time?" Kaito nodded as he sat up and began to stuff his things into his bag. Once both boys had packed up their belongings, they stood up and stretched out their tired limbs. Hakuba began to make his way towards the stairs, then stopped and looked back at Kaito. "You coming, Kuroba-kun?" he asked. Kaito blinked and looked back at Hakuba, grinning lightly.

"I'll go in a sec. I just kinda wanna hang out here for a bit. It's nice out and I'm sure the sunset looks amazing from up here." Kaito said. Hakuba rolled his eyes, a light smile on his lips. He nodded in acknowledgement and turned to go, leaving the thief all alone on the rooftop.

Hakuba soon reached his home, and made his way up towards his room. Tossing his bag off to the side, the detective made his way over to his computer. After typing in some things and looking over certain articles, the blond pulled out his phone and dialed a number before putting the device to his ear and waiting for the ringing to stop.

"Moshi moshi?" came the voice of none other than Edogawa Conan after a few rings.

"Ah, Edogawa-kun! I was wondering if you could meet me somewhere tomorrow afternoon?" Hakuba asked, his eyes not leaving the article he had read moments before. "I was hoping you could help me with a little problem involving a…private case I've been working on."

* * *

Kaito stayed up on the school's roof for about another hour, just taking in the sight of the sunset and Ekoda, letting his mind take in everything he was seeing. It was a rare occasion to see his home like this, well, at least in light. Usually when he was so high up, it was pitch black out. Maybe he could set up some heists around sunset so he can see this wondrous sight…

Shaking his head of those thoughts, Kaito stood up and stretched out his back, letting out a faint groan as he did so. He'd been sitting in that position longer than he thought. Oh well. A slightly sore back was worth it.

Raising his arms and taking in one last breath of the crisp twilight air, Kaito let the light wind play with his hair for a few moments, before letting out the breath he was holding and lowering his arms. Maybe he could stay up here like this again tomorrow after his meeting with Hakuba…

As Kaito picked up his stuff and made his way down the stairs, his mind wandered to the past week or so of his life. The tutor sessions hadn't gone as bad as he had originally thought, and even having his mother home wasn't total hell. Unless, of course, you counted Chikage and Hakuba scheming together against Kaito as hell.

But even that was enjoyable compared to what Kaito had been dealing with before. If not for the fact that Shinichi was still missing, and Kaito jumped every time something banged, Kaito could have told himself that the whole thing with the organization was just one horrible dream.

Speaking of the Detective of the East, Kaito had been seeing less and less of him this week. The snobby detective was still around the thief, of course, but he was around noticeably less than before his mother had come home. This caused a slight panic to rise in the thief's chest. Was Shinichi okay? He wasn't avoiding him, was he? Was he mad at the thief? Psh. Unlikely. Shinichi always, _always_ informed Kaito of when he was mad at him.

Was it because his dear mother was home, and he was forced to spend more time with her and Jii-chan? Shinichi wasn't jealous that Kaito's time had spilt between his family, and his tutor sessions, was he?

…Honestly? Kaito wouldn't put it past the detective. He was rather… possessive about certain things.

But hadn't it been Shinichi that encouraged Kaito to stick with the sessions, for Kaito's own sake at least? Did he change his mind and not want to inform Kaito of it?

Rubbing his head with one hand vigorously, Kaito opted for just asking Shinichi about it the next time he saw the see-through detective. Kaito hoped that that visit would come soon. He missed the detective greatly.

Finally reaching his house, Kaito pulled out his keys and opened the door to the now dark house. "Tadaima." Kaito called out, knowing that his mother and Jii-chan were out for the evening.

"Ah Kuroba Kaito… you finally return home…" Kaito heard the voice before pain exploded on his back, causing him to fall to the floor, coughing lightly and trying to gain back his lost breath. "I was a little worried that I would have to… use certain measures to find you…" coughing one last time, Kaito looked up at his "guest", his eyes wide with fear.

"S-Snake-sama… G-gomen for making you wait…" Kaito said meekly, sitting up slightly as he did so. Oh he was so grateful that his Kaa-san and Jii-chan were out for a while and didn't have to see Snake, or Kaito groveling to such a man. "What is it that you need… this time?" Kaito asked, regretting the words as soon as they came out of his mouth.

"Well…" Snake said, a smirk making its way onto his lips. Kaito's blood ran cold at seeing such a look on the older man. "We're trying to build something, and we need you to do some research on some of the parts that we need." Snake threw a folder at Kaito, who easily caught it. Kaito began to look through the folder, wondering how hard this new "assignment" would be. "Have it by the same time tomorrow, or there will be consequences." Snake said as he left the thief to his work.

A low whistle echoed throughout the quiet house as Shinichi appeared in front of Kaito, crouching as he looked at his counterpart. _I liked it better when he wasn't here._ Shinichi said, attempting to cheer up the now distressed Kaitou. The more Kaito looked through the folder, the more worried he became. Finding information on this thing would be hard enough, let alone as much as that damn organization wanted. _Well... At least you don't have to worry about your Kaa-san and Jii-chan running into Snake… looks like he'll only come when you're home alone._

Kaito only nodded in recognition as he stood up, his eyes still scanning over the folder's contents. The thief made his way up towards his room to begin working, not even really noticing that Shinichi was there. Shinichi frowned as he watched Kaito walk up the stairs, quickly fading away as soon as Kaito reached the top of the stairs.

* * *

"Tadaima~!" Chikage called as she walked into the house, a wide smile on her lips and her arms out wide. "Now where's my little… Kai… chan…?" Chikage blinked as she looked around the dark house, only just now noticing that her son was nowhere in sight. Jii followed in after the widow, flipping a light switch and filling the room with light. "Kaito?" Chikage called again, taking off her shoes and making her way into the kitchen. She blinked again when she didn't see Kaito in there. Her eyebrows furrowed when she also saw that there were no dishes on the counter to be cleaned. Following her hunch, the woman made her towards the fridge and opened it before peering inside.

"What is it, Chikage?" Jii asked as he entered the kitchen, confusion on his face. Chikage stood up and closed the fridge door, a deep frown on her lips. "Something wrong?" Chikage nodded slowly as she looked around the kitchen, as if trying to figure something out. Soon her gaze landed on Jii, and the old man saw a troubled look in the young woman's eyes.

"Kaito didn't even touch his dinner… And I know he's home because I saw his shoes as we walked in…" Chikage explained, causing a frown and a look of worry to appear on Jii's face as well.

"Maybe he wasn't hungry after that wonderful snack you made him?" he offered. Chikage nodded, distracted, her eyes traveling towards the stairs.

"That's a possibility… I think I'm gonna go check on him…" She said as she made her way towards the stairs. Jii nodded and left the woman to tend to her only child. "Kaito?" she called as she reached the top of the stairs. Still receiving no reply, she made her way towards his room, seeing a light coming out from under his door, signaling that he was indeed in there. "You hungry, Kaito? I noticed you didn't eat your dinner…" Chikage put her hand on the doorknob, only for her to frown and push against the door. Kaito never locked the door… Not even when he was doing something involving Kaitou Kid. She knocked gently on the door, raising her voice slightly. "Kaito? Sweetie? Are you okay?"

Still receiving no reply, Chikage sighed sadly and made her way back downstairs, her shoulders slumped together. Jii heard her coming down the stairs and poked his head out of the kitchen. Seeing her dejected look caused a scowl to appear on his lips. "Is Bocchama okay?" he asked. Chikage shook her head as she wrapped her arms around herself, reaching the bottom of the stairs.

"He's in his room, but the door's locked and he won't answer…" she said, her voice breaking with worry towards the end of her sentence. "Something… must have happened while we were out. He sounded perfectly fine when I talked to him before leaving him with Guru-chan." Jii's eyebrow's knit together at the new information.

"Maybe Hakuba-kun knows what happened to Bocchama?" he suggested. Chikage shook her head, looking back up the stairs with a sad look in her eyes.

"No… he would have called me or something to let me know right away if something was wrong… Something must have happened after the two broke off for the day…" Jii nodded thoughtfully, looking off to the side and trying to come up with answers as to why his beloved Bocchama was acting like this again.

"Let's… try and talk to him again in a little bit… and see what happens then." Jii said, catching Chikage's attention. The woman nodded, knowing that all they could do was wait for Kaito to come out of his room.

Taking one last look at the stairs before going into the kitchen once more, Chikage sighed and let her arms rest by her side. "…What's wrong with you, Kaito…?"

* * *

Hakuba couldn't help but smile as he walked into the class that morning. He was a little earlier than he usually was, so he wasn't surprised when he walked in and didn't see his two friends in class just yet. He couldn't wait for the end of the day to come. He was meeting with Conan, and would hopefully get the answers that he had sought after for the past few months. If things went as he hoped they would, then some more pieces would fall into place, and Hakuba would be able to get into Kaito's mind, at least a little.

Speaking of Kaito… Hakuba glanced up at the clock and noticed that right about now was when Aoko and Kaito usually came in. Noticing that neither of the two were here caused Hakuba to frown. Maybe Chikage stopped them on their way out? Probably. Hakuba let out a slight chuckle at the thought of Chikage mothering Kaito once more. It was sort of… endearing.

A few minutes before the bell rang signaling the beginning of class, Kaito almost ran to his desk, not even bothering with a greeting towards Hakuba or anyone else. Aoko walked in moments after Kaito, a deep frown on her lips as she sat down in front of Hakuba. The detective looked back from Kaito to Aoko, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. Tapping Aoko's shoulder, Hakuba whispered to her low enough so that Kaito wouldn't be able to hear.

"Something wrong, Aoko-kun?" he asked. The girl's frown deepened as she glanced from Hakuba to Kaito, who was currently staring outside the window, clearly lost in thought.

"I think so…" Aoko said slowly after a few moments. "When I went to pick up Kaito this morning, Chikage said she wasn't sure if Kaito would be coming in today. Apparently when she and Jii-chan got home last night, Kaito was locked up in his room and wouldn't speak to either of them. He didn't say a word or really look at me the whole way here, either." Aoko said, a look of sheer worry etched onto her features. "Chikage has no idea what could have happened while they were out. How was he during your tutor session, Hakuba?" she asked.

"He was perfectly fine." Hakuba said, glancing at the other boy. Looking back at Aoko, he mirrored her frown. "Though, I did leave before he did. I had other obligations to take care of, and he wanted to stay up on the roof and watch the sunset. He appeared to be totally relaxed, though." Before either teen could say anymore, the bell rang, and the teacher walked in, instantly beginning class. Instead of paying attention to the lesson, Hakuba took this time to look over Kaito, taking every detail that he could.

They may not be as defined as they were before, but Kaito once again had bags under his eyes, informing Hakuba that the thief had been up all night last night. His shoulders were hunched together, meaning he was tense and probably a little paranoid, if the other's twitching leg was any indication. A low rumbling sound alerted Hakuba to the fact that Kaito skipped breakfast this morning, and probably dinner last night as well. The dazed look also told Hakuba that Kaito had something on his mind, something big. Kaito was clearly not paying any attention to his schoolwork, or anything else for that matter.

In fact… now that Hakuba thought about it, Kaito wasn't even glaring at air today, or muttering things under his breath. Wait a second…

Hakuba's eyes widened in realization. That's why Kaito would talk to himself and glare at nothing! It all made sense now! From what he heard from Akako, Kaito was highly stressed because of some "darkness", and obviously the thief was also paranoid about something. How could Hakuba have missed it before? If someone is extremely paranoid about something, and stressed out as well, with a little sleep deprivation, what could be the end result of these two things mixing?

Hallucinations!

That's why Kaito would glare at nothing as well as talk to himself, or rather the air. He was seeing something that no one else could.

The deeper meaning behind his epiphany hit Hakuba almost as fast as the epiphany itself did. If Kaito was seeing hallucinations, then that meant he was at his mental breaking point, or at the very least close to it.

Hakuba bit his lip, glancing at Kaito once more. How had he not noticed before? He had noticed something was troubling Kaito, but Hakuba had never taken into account what all of this paranoia and stress was doing to the young thief's mind. He'd been so caught up in finding out what was causing the stress that he never took the time the think about what the stress was doing to Kaito. If he'd thought of that sooner, he might have been able to… what, exactly? Would he have told Aoko to help out Kaito more? Or would he have somehow gotten into contact with Chikage and made her come home sooner?

Quickly deciding that thinking about such a thing now was useless, Hakuba forced his thoughts away from Kaito's mental status, and instead moved his train of thought on how to help fix his mental problems. But how to go about it…

Hakuba jumped slightly in his seat as the bell rang. Glancing up at the clock, Hakuba blinked, noticing that it was already time for lunch. Had he really been thinking about the thief for that long? Shaking off his shock of the day flying by, Hakuba turned to talk to Kaito, only for the thief to already be out of the room.

"Kaito-kun bolted out of the room as soon as the bell rang, Saguru-kun." Akako said, causing Hakuba to jump slightly. Where had that witch come from? "You'll just have to talk to him after school during your tutor sessions." Hakuba narrowed his eyes slightly as he stared at the girl.

"How did you know that I wanted to talk to him, Koizumi-kun?" Hakuba asked. The girl smiled a bit, but Hakuba had a feeling that it was forced.

"You kept glancing at him every now and then during class." The witch elaborated. "Plus, if I were you, I would have that idiot on my mind." She said, her weak smile turning into a scowl. Hakuba raised an eyebrow, not liking where this conversation was headed.

"What gives you that idea?" a sad sigh escaped her lips at the question.

"Because, remember that dark cloud I told you about earlier? The one that surrounds Kaito-kun?" Akako took the nod as an encouragement to continue. "Well, for the past week it's gotten… lighter I guess you could say. It was still there, but not nearly as dark as it had before. But now…" she shook her head sadly, her eyes traveling to the floor briefly. "Now it's darker than before. I fear that it's going to consume him sooner than I originally thought."

"Well…" Hakuba said, causing Akako to give the detective her full attention. "Can't you make this… cloud or whatever disappear?" The reply the other got was a shake of the head and a frown.

"I'm afraid that there's only one person that can help disperse this cloud surrounding Kaito-kun. And I can only point you in the right direction. There's nothing else I can do to help him. It's up to you to find this person, Saguru-kun. I doubt that anyone else would be able to." She gave him a tiny, encouraging smile, which caused Hakuba to grin in a cocky manor.

"I'm assuming that this person that can help that idiot is Kudo-kun?" Akako nodded.

"That is what I'm told, yes. He is the key to helping out Kaito-kun. I just hope you are able to find him in time…" another frown appeared on her lips as the bell for the end of lunch rang. Bidding the blond a goodbye, Akako made her way to her seat, and Kaito appeared in his own moments later, just before the teacher walked in.

Leaning back in his chair, Hakuba once more turned his sights on Kaito. So, it was up to him to find Shinichi, huh? That cocky smirk appeared on his lips again.

He'd find Shinichi before Kaito reached his breaking point. He was a detective, after all.

* * *

**A/N:** And there you have it ;D It's long, it's moving the plot forward, AND IT WAS ANNOYING TO WRITE. Grrrr. I hate writing for Hakuba Dx He just… Doesn't do what I want T^T I get so much writers block with that blond asshole. And there was soooo much of him here!

**B/N**: Hakuba's MY bitch. We've been over that. You know the detectives like me better, anyway 8D

**A/N:** Dx grrr! Well at least Kaito does what I want. -huffs- Oh well. My ranting aside. Was it worth the wait? Enjoy it? Hate it? Review~~

I'll be returning to my normal updating times, btw ;D So see you all in two weeks~

~Angel~


	16. Theory of a Detective

_Anonymous Review Replies: _

_Firepaw: xD It's alright that you don't have anything else to say. And aw! That's so sweet of you to ask! ^.^ Graduation was amazing :) A little depressing (since I'm going to miss seeing all of my friends everyday like crazy) but great nonetheless. _

_Lizard: Sorry to make you wait so long, hun xD;; Hope the wait was worth it, though! And… I seriously can't answer any of those questions without giving something away XD; Well minus the part about Heiji. I honestly don't think he's gonna appear again. But I haven't decided that for sure. And they better not come after me! They'll be sorry if they do~! –evil grin- Here's your update! :D_

**A/N: **See? :D Posted just like I said I would! Even though it's basically Monday… -sweatdrop- Sorry for the slight delay! :P was waiting for Dai-chan to look this over, but she was busy and now she's gone poof so imma just post anyways. And before I get to the chapter I would just like to say: FFF OAHERSDLFJLASJ OMG! I have almost 150 reviews! –spazzspazz- You people make me sooo happy! ^_^ Just like, I don't even ;~; I can't thank you all enough! Okay. Done spazzing. …Probably.

I'd like to say that I effing hate this chapter. I love how it moves everything forward and what not. BUT EFF YOU HAKUBA DX OMG. Soooo much writers block with that fucker T^T Like I Dai-chan about how much trouble he was giving me… and she laughed. Traaaaitor~!

**Disclaimer**: (I've forgotten to do one HOW many times?) Only own the idea and nothing else. Bleeeh.

* * *

**Chapter 15: Theory of a Detective**

Much to Kaito's chagrin, school was over and that meant that he had a tutor session to get to. He'd been hoping that, for whatever reason, Hakuba would call off the session. His hopes were crushed, however, when Hakuba motioned for Kaito to follow him up to the roof to study. The thief had nodded obediently and ran a hand through his hair as he grabbed his stuff, just wanting to get home already.

Despite pulling an all-nighter last night, he still had a little bit of research to get done before Snake's inevitable visit later in the day. There was only a little bit he still needed to gather, but he still wanted as much time to get the information as possible. He'd just do his homework for the weekend and then race home. The thief just hoped that Hakuba was willing to do that.

Upon reaching the roof, Kaito stopped short and noticed that Hakuba was giving him an intense stare. The stare made Kaito feel incredibly small, like the other was studying him. He couldn't remember the last time Hakuba had looked at him so intently. It unnerved Kaito to the point where he had to resist fidgeting. "…What is it, Hakuba?" Kaito said after a few moments, wanting Hakuba to just look away already.

Hakuba was silent for a few moments, looking the thief up and down like he had earlier that day. "…Did something happen when we parted ways last evening, Kuroba-kun?" Hakuba asked eventually. He noticed the other flinch at the question and look away, hiding his expression behind that damn Poker Face he was so proud of. Well, that told Hakuba more than words ever could have. "I only ask this, Kuroba-kun, because you just look a little… rattled today. I can help you if you tell me what's wrong, you know." He said, hoping the younger boy would open up to him, if only a little bit.

"…Nothing's wrong, Hakuba." Kaito said after a few moments, his voice coming out a little forced. "I just had a bad nights sleep last night, that's all." He said, still refusing to look at Hakuba. "Can we just get this over with so I can go home and nap?" he requested, glancing at Hakuba from the corner of his eyes.

Despite the fact that Hakuba knew Kaito was lying through his teeth, he complied and nodded. Kaito's shoulders sagged a little bit in relief, but Hakuba noted that the other teen was still pretty tense. "Come on. We have a bit of work to do before I can send you off to count sheep." Kaito smiled a little bit at the comment and walked over to Hakuba, sitting on the ground in front of the Half Brit as he took out his homework for the next few nights.

To Kaito's sheer relief, the pair ended a little earlier than usual, in spite of Hakuba's light probing as to what was wrong with the thief this time. Kaito let out a sigh of relief when he finished the last problem on their physics homework, leaning back down onto the ground and stretching out his arms. Hakuba rolled his eyes at his friend's antics and began to pack up his things.

"It wasn't that bad, Kuroba-kun," he said to the magician. Who just shrugged and sat up, beginning to put his things away. "Now don't forget what I said yesterday, Kuroba-kun. This will be our last tutoring session so long as you keep doing your homework and don't let your grades slip."

"I know I know." Kaito said with a wave of his hand, dismissing the others words. "I've learned my lesson. I won't let my grades fall ever again. I'll be good~! Scout's honor~!" Kaito said, holding one hand over his chest and holding the other hand in the air.

Hakuba gave Kaito a blank stare for a few moments, forgetting how spontaneous this brunette could be. "…Kuroba-kun. You're not a scout, nor will you ever be." He pointed out, causing Kaito to merely grin and shrug his shoulders.

"Eh, details~ Who needs them~?" Kaito asked as he made his way towards the roof's door. He stopped, however, and looked back over to Hakuba. "Oh, by the way, Guru-chan~?" Kaito said, a mischievous grin on his lips. A shiver ran up and down Hakuba's spine at that grin. "I thought I'd get you something to remember our time together~" Kaito said, before snapping his fingers.

Hakuba barely had any time to blink before he was covered in purple smoke. As soon as the smoke cleared, Hakuba let out a sigh of annoyance as he looked down at himself, wondering what in the world Kaito had made him wear this time.

His perfectly clean school pants were torn and had holes in more than a few places. His shoes had completely disappeared from him, rendering the blond barefoot. His jacket had disappeared as well, leaving Hakuba wearing nothing but a horribly abused white T-shirt, with more holes in it than Swiss cheese. Upon further inspection, Hakuba noticed that he was also covered in dirt and what appeared to be dried and fresh blood. The blond reached up and touched his face, noting that he was wearing make up that made it look like part of his face was rotting.

Letting out an annoyed and angered sigh, Hakuba leaned down to pick up his bag, and noticed that there was a note on it.

_Have a fun walk home, Guru-chan~ (heart) And don't forget to ask for brains to eat~! You are a growing boy, after all~!_

"…A zombie. How… classy." Hakuba said, crumbling the note and shoving it into his pocket, only vaguely noting that the paper fell right out of his pocket and onto the ground.

He had to hand it to Kaito. This was a pretty creative prank. The detective just hoped that he didn't get arrested or shot on his walk home.

* * *

Luckily for Hakuba, no one had commented on his attire as he walked home, and no police had tried to shoot him, either. Still, that hadn't stopped people from simply staring as he walked. It wasn't uncommon for someone from Ekoda to walk down the streets in some kind of outfit, almost always courtesy of Kuroba Kaito, so no one was really that surprised when the great Hakuba Saguru walked through town in a zombie outfit.

He had spent the next half hour or so trying to wipe all of the dirt and blood off of himself, attempting to make himself presentable once more. Once he was satisfied with his appearance, Hakuba checked the clock and began to make his way towards the houses entrance, noting that it was almost time for him to meet up with Conan.

Rushing towards the train station, Hakuba just barely made the train before letting out a sigh of relief, sitting down and watching the sights zoom past him. While he waited for his stop, Hakuba went over everything in his head that he wished to say to Conan, hoping beyond all hope that the small detective was able to help him with this puzzle known as Kuroba Kaito.

Soon, Hakuba got off the train and left the station, looking at the surrounding area. He'd read about this area in the paper, but he'd never been here himself. He began to make his way towards his destination, looking around as he did so. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his watch, noticing that he was, as usual, right on time. Reaching where he was going, Hakuba walked into the area, only giving the sign above him a quick glance.

_Tropical Land_.

At the moment, however, the theme park was closed for the season, which made going around and investigating all the easier for the blond detective. There was something eerie about being in the park with no one else. Hakuba planned on hurrying this investigation up, not wanting to spend too long in this closed theme park.

The blond began to walk around the area, looking around as he did so. Despite the place having been empty for the past few months, there was still an odor of popcorn, cotton candy, and other fattening foods. Hakuba scrunched up his nose at the smell and tried to ignore it as best he could, trying to find his smaller companion.

"Hakuba-san!" at hearing his name, Hakuba blinked and looked in the direction where he heard the voice. Upon seeing Conan, Hakuba walked over to the boy, a smile on his lips.

"Ah hello, Edogawa-kun," Hakuba said when he was close enough to Conan. "So glad you could come on such short notice. I would not have asked you to come if I didn't think you could help me with this… riddle, I guess you could call it." Conan nodded in understanding, putting his hands into his pockets.

"I don't mind, Hakuba-san." The shrunken detective informed. "I'd like to get information as much as you do on this case. Now, why did you want to meet me in the area where Shinichi-niichan was last seen before going onto that long case?" he asked. Hakuba blinked in confusion as he looked down at Conan, an eyebrow raised. Conan shifted slightly, wondering why Hakuba was giving him such a look.

"…I thought Kudo-kun went missing." Hakuba said, causing Conan to tense slightly, which didn't go unnoticed by the blond detective.

"T-that's what Ran-neechan and the others originally thought…" Conan said, looking off to the side and scratching at his chin nervously. "But Shinichi-niichan called recently and told Ran-neechan that he was just on a really long case, and that he had to leave immediately for it, and that's why he didn't tell her."

"Sou ka…" Hakuba said, putting his hand to his chin in thought. "I'm guessing that this case is low key, and that's why you weren't informed sooner?" he asked, looking at Conan, who nodded. Well, that explained why it wasn't in any of the papers. "I'd still like to look around a bit." Hakuba said, causing Conan to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "You know, try and see if there are any hints to why Kudo-kun had to leave so suddenly." Conan nodded in reply and began to walk, presumably in the direction where Shinichi had last been seen.

"Ran-neechan told me where she lost Shinichi-niichan." Conan explained as he walked through the theme park, headed toward where he had left Ran to go follow the mysterious men. "She didn't know what he did after they split up, though." He said with a shrug. Hakuba nodded, figuring that that had been the case.

"I'm not sure what I'll find when we reach that spot," Hakuba said, thinking out loud. "But by this point, I'm sure anything will help find Kudo-kun's whereabouts." At that, Conan looked over his shoulder at Hakuba, curiosity written all over his face.

"Why do you want to know where Shinichi-niichan went so badly, Hakuba-san?" Conan asked. "If you need his help on a case, I'd be more than happy to help you in his stead." Hakuba shook his head at the small child's offer.

"You are already helping me, Edogawa-kun. But I need Kudo-kun for this. He's the only one that can help Kuroba-kun by this point." Hakuba answered, a frown of worry setting onto his lips. Conan stopped walking then and fully turned to face Hakuba, shock on his face.

"What makes you think Shinichi-niichan could help out Kaito-niichan?" Conan asked, blinking. He was well aware that the thief blamed himself for the Shinichi's supposed disappearance, but how could he help the distraught magician? Hakuba looked away from the shrunken detective just then, putting his hands into his pockets as a far away look appeared in his eyes.

"I… I came to a conclusion today during class." He informed Conan, who was listening intently. "I'm not sure how I failed to notice it until now, but it was always right there in front of me." A sigh escaped his lips, and his shoulders slumped in defeat. "For the past few months, Kuroba-kun has been obviously stressed about something. What he is stressed about, I have not been able to figure out. However, he has also been rather jumpy, which means that he is also very paranoid about something." Hakuba paused for a moment, his eyes furrowing as he looked off into the distance, trying to figure out how to word his theory just right.

"I figured as much," Conan said, nodding in agreement. "The few times I have been around Kaito-niichan, he did seem jumpy, and it was easy to tell that he was troubled. But what does this have to do with Shinichi?" he asked.

"Well," Hakuba said, pausing once again before speaking. "I came to the conclusion this morning, that combined with the stress and paranoia, that the guilt from feeling responsible for Kudo-kun's disappearance that…" Hakuba let the sentence hang, not wanting to finish. Conan leaned forward a little bit, his heart picking up in pace. What in the world could Hakuba have concluded?

"That…what, Hakuba-san?" Conan said eagerly, desperately wanting to know what Hakuba was thinking. The blond turned toward Conan, a slightly haunted and troubled look in his orbs.

"That… Kuroba-kun is rather close to his mental breaking point… That he is cracking under some unknown stress…" Hakuba said softly, wondering how Conan would digest this new information. Conan took a sharp intake of breath, taking a step back.

"B-but! What makes you think that? What evidence, besides the paranoia, stress and guilt, makes you think his mind is in such a state?" Conan said, his voice rising in pitch a bit as he spoke. He so desperately hoped that Hakuba was over-thinking things this time. That Kaito's mind was not near its breaking point.

"Because," Hakuba said, his eyes narrowing a little bit as he recalled what he'd been seeing for a few weeks. "Kuroba-kun has, as much as he tries to hide it, been talking to nothing, as well as glaring at nothing. I fear that he has been hallucinating for about a week. And as you are well aware, when people start to see things that aren't there, it means that their mental state is probably horrible. As much as I hate to say it," Hakuba said, letting out a sigh as a crestfallen look appeared on his face. "Kuroba-kun is steadily… going insane."

Conan's eyes were wide with shock as he stared down at the ground, forgetting Hakuba was there for a few moments. Kaito… going insane? And not his normal brand of insanity, the white padded room and straight jacket insane. It made sense to Conan that he would be, but he still refused to believe it. He just… couldn't. Not Kaito. Anyone but the white clad thief. Guilt welled up in the child's' chest the more he thought about Kaito going crazy. If he hadn't followed those two men in black, he wouldn't have turned into Conan and Shinichi would still be around, interfering in heists still. Wait…

Shinichi!

"Hakuba-san," Conan said, his head quickly looking back up at Hakuba, who raised an eyebrow at the determination shining in Conan's eyes. "So what you're telling me is that if we are able to find Shinichi, that we might be able to help Kaito's mental state?"

"It's highly possible," Hakuba said with a shrug, wondering what Conan was getting at. "Kuroba-kun feels that it is his fault for Kudo-kun's disappearance. So if we are able to find Kudo-kun and prove to Kuroba-kun that it's not his fault, then some of the stress might leave him, and he'll stop hallucinating. It is only a theory, however. I can't say for sure that Kudo-kun will be able to help. But, by this point, I'm sure anything will help Kuroba-kun."

Conan nodded and put his hand to his chin, once again looking down at the ground in thought. "Sou ka…" he said, his gaze not leaving the ground. It may have just been a theory, but Conan still had to check it out. Saying no more on the matter, Conan took off in the direction towards the entrance, leaving a very confused Hakuba in his wake. "Gomen, Hakuba-san! But I have to go take care of something! I'll show you the spot Ran-neechan told me about another time!" he said, not looking back.

"Matte! Edogawa-kun!" Hakuba called out before cursing under his breath when the shrunken boy didn't even turn towards him. His main lead now gone, Hakuba let out a sigh and opted to explore the area a little bit on his own, hoping to get at least something out of this trip.

Conan, on the other hand, was running full speed for the train station, determination once again shining in his eyes. So, Kaito was going crazy over guilt, stress, and paranoia, huh? Well, Conan still had no idea what he was going to do about the stress and paranoia, but he could at least ease the others conscious about Shinichi.

"Hang on, you stupid thief," Conan said under his breath as he continued to run. "I'll prove to you that it's not your fault I'm gone. Even if I have to tell you what exactly happened to me…"

* * *

**A/N**: Evil cliffie is evil~! Despite the cliffie, I love this ending? Why? It sets up Conan and Kaito meeting at some point soon X3 AND NO HAKUBA~! Woo! /cough And there you have it ;D We're finally moving towards the climax of the story! How will Kaito react to seeing Conan? :O What's gonna happen between Kaito and Snake? Gonna have to waaaait ;D Sorreh~ -not really-

Love it? Hate it? …Review? ;~; Pleeease?

Btw ;D I'm not gonna lie. I totally took my chapter title from the group name _Theory of a Deadman_, which I clearly don't own. :I

Reviews make me a happy panda~! X3

~Angel~


	17. Coming Clean

_Anonymous review replies: _

_Firepaw: I made someone cry? Cool! 8D –mean- I love writing cliffies, but effing hate reading them xD; And yes, yes it is graduation went well. I would have been pissed if it hadn't XD; Good luck with your friendships next year! Me and my two best friends keep saying how we're gonna be skyping everyday during college lmao. We're all in different states so bleh XP_

_Lizard: I doubt I'll ever abandon this bitch XD; Dai-chan would kill me if I didn't finish it. Lmao xD I haven't decided what I wanna do with Heiji just yet, but knowing me, I probably will have Conan get his vengeance eventually XP And yes! Yes! It was his revenge! Dx grrr! I effing hate Hakuba and his oajreljalgjasljfs. Then again I turned him into a lot of things to I guess we're even…maybe :3 Here's your update~!_

**A/N: WARNING. This chapter is completely and 100% unbeated. That's right. You've seen this before my wonderful beta. **(She's gonna kill me for that.) I literally just finished this chapter, and (Lucky me! -.- ) Dai-chan is away visiting family until the first and has no interwebs. …I wasn't aware of this until like, two days before she left. I could have had this ready before she left, but bah. I got my wisdom teeth out the 15 and like hell I wanted to write. I just wanted to SLEEP DX Damn pain gave me insomnia –grumbles- my whining aside. I tried to catch everything, but bah. So, I apologize for any and all mistakes, as well as OOCness (Dai-chan usually catches that too…) I'll have the betad version up as soon as Dai-chan gets back and is able to read this.

Until then: Enjoy my fails! /shot

**Disclaimer: …I so don't keep forgetting these fuckers. I don't own. Lawyers go away! Dx**

* * *

**Chapter 16: **Coming Clean

Kaito's good mood had quickly diminished as soon as he got home. He had gone straight to his computer, going right back to where he left of that morning. The thief glanced at the clock every now and then, wiling time to slow down long enough for him to finish his task. There was hardly any time left before Snake showed up.

"Finally," Kaito said, letting out an exaggerated sigh as he leaned back in his computer chair, stretching out his back. "Got the last of it." He printed out the last bit of information that Snake had requested and put it in the folder he had been given the previous night. Kaito glanced at the clock once more, noting how he'd finished with little time to spare.

Kaito still had no idea what any of this stuff was for, but he had a feeling that it was probably bad. Guilt welded up in his chest at the thought of the Organization hurting people with it, but he did his best to ignore it. It wasn't like he had a choice in the matter, after all.

"At least Kaa-san and Jii-chan are out again tonight," Kaito said through a sigh as he stood up, folder in hand. Kaito hadn't seen his mother or his grandfather figure when he arrived home, but then again, he had rushed up to his room as soon as his shoes were off. He idly remembered his mother yelling after him this morning that they would be out till late, and he was thankful for that. He didn't want to risk them running into Snake when he came to pick up his information.

Erasing his history and shutting down his computer, Kaito made his way out of his room, planning on just going downstairs and waiting for the inevitable visit from Snake and going to sleep once it was done. His lie to Hakuba earlier that day had only been partial. He had wanted to get home to sleep, but only after his job was completed. The thief opened his door and headed towards the stairs, hoping Snake's visit would be swift.

"Just the man I was looking for…" came a voice from behind Kaito. The thief tensed and turned around on his heel, having just been moments from walking down the stairs.

"S-Snake-sama!" Kaito said, not having expected to see Snake right there. "I-I have what you wanted." He said, holding out the folder for Snake to take. An involuntary flinch escaped Kaito as Snake snatched the folder from him, thumbing through the folders contents to make sure Kaito did his job. "It's all in there, Snake-sama." Kaito said, wanting Snake out of his house sooner rather than later.

"So it is," the hit man said, closing the folder and holding it in his hands, his attention turning back towards the boy in front of him. Kaito had to hold back a shiver at the menacing smile on Snake's lips. "Good work as usual, Kaito." For some reason, Kaito took that as an insult, rather than a compliment. "You may go about your normal business, now." He said and waved Kaito away, much to Kaito's relief.

Kaito merely nodded and began to head downstairs, planning on napping on the couch. As soon as he got half way down the stairs, however, Snake's chilling voice stopped him dead in his tracks. "Oh and Kuroba Kaito," Snake said, his voice suddenly much closer than Kaito would have liked it to be. "It would be in your best interest to forget about what you just obtained for us."

Before Kaito even had a chance to react to the man's words, he felt a hand on his back, shoving him. The thief let out a yelp of surprise as he tumbled down the stairs, landing at the bottom with a loud "thud". Kaito let out a groan as he lied on the floor, completely disoriented by the fall.

Kaito tried to get up after a few moments, but only ended up falling down onto his back, whimpering as soon as his back connected with the floor. He faintly thought he heard a shout and pounding, but he wasn't sure if the pounding was from his head or not. And, for all he knew, the shouting could have been from Shinichi. The thief closed his eyes, not in the mood to talk to Shinichi right now. His head just hurt way too much. Shinichi could yell at him for being an idiot later, when the room wasn't spinning and his back wasn't throbbing.

Deciding that moving to the couch was probably worth less effort than it was worth, Kaito opted to just lie there at the foot of the stairs, waiting for darkness to claim him. He only hoped that he woke up before his mother and Jii-chan got home. It would be hell if he had to explain why he was on the floor at the foot of the stairs.

Kaito inhaled slowly, wincing slightly at the movement, and all but willed himself to fall unconscious.

Fate, or whatever great entity was controlling Kaito's life, had other plans for the thief as his door burst open, almost completely coming off of its hinges.

* * *

Conan grumbled as he looked around the area he was in, regretting having run off like that. It hadn't been until he was half way to Edoka that Conan realized he had no idea where the thief lived. Quickly coming up with a solution, Conan texted Hakuba, requesting the address to the Kuroba residence.

Conan could almost see the amused smirk on Hakuba's lips as he received the blonde's reply. The cheeky bastard was probably enjoying Conan's absentmindedness. Oh well. At least Hakuba had been kind enough to not only give Conan the address, but directions to the house from the station as well.

It was safe to say Conan was a little surprised when he reached the Kuroba household. He had honestly expected the house to be decked out with assorted items and gadgets, seeing as how Kaitou Kid was one to show off his many… toys. So when Conan reached the house he stared at it for a few moments, wondering if he had the address right. The shrunken detective had at least expected Kaito's house to be _pink_.

Admittedly, he was a little disappointed that the house was normal looking. Then again, that in no way meant that the inside was the same way. Conan wouldn't be shocked if he walked into the house and was instantly covered in feathers and a beak was on his lips.

This was Kaitou Kid, after all.

Conan walked down the path towards the door and went over everything in his head. He was going to tell Kaito who he was. Who he _really_ was. He knew that Kaito would be able to keep his secret, so he wasn't worried about that. He was worried, however, about how Kaito would take the news. Would the thief believe him? Call him crazy?

Conan shook his head of those thoughts and stepped up to the door. He'd worry about Kaito's reaction once he was inside. He only hoped Kaito let him in so that he could talk. After all, their last encounter hadn't gone over too well.

As the shrunken boy raised his arm to knock on the door, he heard a yelp followed by a "thud". His eyes widened as worry and concern washed over him. Conan began to pound on the door, wondering what had happened. "Kaito-niichan! Are you alright!" he called out as he banged on the door. Conan's worry only grew when he didn't get a reply, and was greeted only by silence. He reached up towards the doorknob and twisted it, only to curse when the knob didn't budge.

A small smirk appeared on his lips as he took a step back and bent down, a hand going to his sneakers. "Well," he said to himself, small bolts of electricity protruding from his shoe. "If he's not going to let me in, I'll let myself in." with that said, Conan pulled his foot back and kicked at the door, feeling a small sense of pride as he watched it fling open. Conan didn't waste anytime as he ran into the house, looking around frantically for Kaito.

"Kaito-niichan!" he cried as he ran over towards the bottom of the stairs, seeing the fallen thief lying there. Panic flowed through Conan when he saw the other's eyes closed, wondering if Kaito had hit his head. "Kaito-niichan!" he cried again, shaking Kaito's shoulders.

A hiss of pain escaped Kaito at the movement, and Conan quickly stopped, looking at the other with clear worry. Kaito let out a groan of pain as he opened his eyes, pain clouding over those beautiful indigo orbs. Conan let out a sigh of relief, glad that Kaito hadn't lost consciousness. If he had, Conan figured things would have been worse.

"C-Conan-kun…?" Kaito said weakly, surprised that the Chibi-tantei was in his house. "What're you-ah!" he winced a bit as he tried to sit up, stopping in his movements.

"Stop moving, baro." Conan scolded as he moved to Kaito's side and gently helped him sit up, propping him up against the wall. "What happened?" he asked, frowning in worry as he looked over Kaito.

"I… fell down the stairs." Kaito said, quickly looking up at the top of the stairs, half expecting Snake to still be there, smirking at him. Conan blinked and looked towards where Kaito was looking, confusion on his face. "I landed on my back and I think I hit my head…" he said, causing Conan's attention to turn back to him. Kaito raised a hand and rubbed at his head, wincing a bit as he did so. Yup, he'd definitely hit his head.

Conan let out a sigh before smiling weakly at the older boy, glad that he wasn't hurt more than he already was. At least he hadn't broken his neck. "Come on, Kaito-niichan," Conan said, gently taking Kaito's hand. "Let's get you on the couch so that you can rest. I'll even get ice for your head."

Kaito merely blinked and nodded, slowly standing up. He let out another wince as he did so, but managed to get to his feet. He took a step toward the couch and stumbled a bit, almost falling over again. Conan was quick to grab his arm, however, and steadied him. Kaito smiled weakly in thanks before taking another step, relieved when he didn't fall over.

As soon as Kaito was lying down on his stomach, Conan went into the kitchen to retrieve some ice. As soon as Conan was out of the room, Kaito closed his eyes and let out a small sigh, glad that he could finally rest.

_How cute._ Kaito's eyes opened as he looked over at Shinichi, who was peering into the kitchen. _It's like you have your own private little nurse_. Kaito snorted at the words, closing his eyes once again.

"More like a nurse of evil." He replied, just wanting to sleep already. "He's with the Organization, remember? There's nothing cute about that."

_I think you're wrong, Kaito._ Shinichi said thoughtfully, causing Kaito's eyes to open once again. _If Snake was the one to throw you down the stairs, why would Conan be here, helping you? If Conan was really with the Organization, wouldn't he just be making it worse?_

"…Not unless he's a sadist." Kaito countered, closing his eyes once again, wanting this conversation to be over. Shinichi, on the other hand, had other ideas.

_I don't think so. He looked genuinely worried about you when he came in. I highly doubt Conan-kun is associated with the Black Organization._

"Then, my lovely Tantei-kun, how did he know I'm Kaitou Kid?" Kaito retorted almost bitterly. Shinichi was silent for a few moments, looking off to the side.

…_Maybe he just… figured it out on his own. Like Hakuba did._

Before Kaito was able to reply, however, Conan came back into the room, a towel in his hands. "Kaito-niichan don't fall asleep." He said with a worried huff. "If you have a concussion, the worst thing you can do right now is sleep." Kaito let out a sigh but complied, opening his eyes. Conan smirked a little bit as he walked over to Kaito, gently setting the ice on top of Kaito's head. "Now you said it was just your back and your head you hit, right?"

"Yeah," Kaito said, shifting the ice a little bit so that it was resting on the bump on his head. He let out a wince when the ice touched the sensitive area before letting out a sigh. "Who knew a Chibi-tantei could be so… motherly." Kaito said with a small grin on his lips, causing Conan to blush and look off to the side.

"S-shut up, baro!" Conan said, causing Kaito's grin to grow some more. "Falling down the stairs is serious, especially if you hit your head."

"Right…" Kaito said, glancing over at a grinning Shinichi, who quickly disappeared from sight. "Anyways…" he turned his attention back to Conan, who merely blinked. "What are you doing here, anyways Conan-kun?"

Conan blinked a few times, a look of confusion on his face for a moment. Realization then dawned on the shrunken boy and determination flashed across his face. "Oh right! I came here to talk to you. About Shinichi." He said, not even bothering to add 'niichan' at the end. Kaito blinked, curiosity written all over his face. At the mention of the detectives name Kaito felt guilt welling up in his stomach. He didn't let it show on his face, however, wondering where this was going.

"What's there to talk about? The only information I have on Shinichi-kun is from what I've read in papers. I've never met him before he… disappeared." He said, having to hold himself back from saying "dead". Conan snorted at the others words, causing Kaito to raise an eyebrow.

"That's a lie. You and I both know that." Conan replied. "I know you're Kaitou Kid, and I know that you and Shinichi have history together."

"That reminds me…" Kaito said his eyes narrowing a bit as he looked at Conan, who tensed a little bit. "How do you know I'm Kaitou Kid? You've only met me a few times. How could you have possibly known that?" Kaito said, no longer denying what Conan was saying.

"I…" Conan bit his lip and looked away from Kaito, his resolve depleting slightly. He shook his head, however, and turned to face Kaito once more, determination shining in his eyes. "I know you're Kid because… Because I'm Shin-"

"Kaito!" Conan almost fell from the sudden shout. He turned around and saw Aoko panting in the doorway, shock and worry on her face. She quickly strode over towards her childhood friend, completely ignoring Conan. "Kaito! What on earth happened! Your door's basically off it's hinges and- oh god are you _hurt!_" she said, only just not taking in the fact that Kaito was on his stomach, a towel full of ice on his head.

Kaito laughed nervously as he sat up, wincing as he moved his back. He held the ice in place as he looked up at Aoko, not having expected her at all. "I just fell down the stairs, that's all." He explained. "One of my gadgets exploded by the door, so that's why it's like that." He said, glancing to Conan as he said that. Conan tensed and chuckled nervously, looking off to the side.

_How am I going to explain_ that_ to Kaito_? He thought, now regretting using his sneakers.

"You fell down the stairs?" Aoko said, her eyes narrowing in worry. "BaKaito. You need to be more careful." She said, shaking her head from side to side. She blinked just then, just now noticing that Conan was there as well. "And what's Conan-kun doing here?" she asked, causing Conan to tense once again.

"I came here to ask Kaito-niichan some more stuff about Kaitou Kid." He said, putting on a fake smile as he looked up at Aoko. "It's a good thing that I did seeing as how I've been taking care of Kaito-niichan since he fell." Aoko chuckled at that and ruffled Conan's hair, much to his displeasure.

"You need a baby sitter, Kaito," Aoko said, putting her hands on her hips, a smirk on her lips. "If even little kids are taking care of you."

"Yeah yeah…" Kaito said, his shoulders slumping as he glared up at his friend. "Why are you here, anyways? Shouldn't you be bothering someone else?"

"Nope~!" Aoko said, a little too cheerfully for Kaito's tastes. "Your mom wanted me to come by and make sure you ate your dinner." Kaito merely pouted at her words. "So~! I'm going to go cook while you rest up here, BaKaito." She said grinning. She then turned to Conan, a thoughtful look on her face. "Will you be staying for dinner, Conan-kun?" she asked.

"Sure~!" Conan said happily before Kaito had a chance to protest. "I'd love to have dinner with Kaito-niichan~!" he said, glancing at Kaito with a smug look.

"Okay. You can come help me make dinner. And you," Aoko said, looking pointedly at Kaito. "You lie back down and rest that stupid head of yours." Kaito let out a groan as he lied back down, too tired to argue.

"Remember Kaito-niichan," Conan said, beginning to follow Aoko into the kitchen. "No falling asleep just yet." He said with a small grin. Kaito merely looked at Conan with a "we're so not done talking here" look. Conan just nodded and walked into the kitchen, asking Aoko what she needed him to do.

Kaito rolled his eyes and let out a sigh, trying to keep his eyes open despite his exhaustion. He just wanted this god damn day to be over.

* * *

**A/N:** So, how many of you are pissed at Aoko right now? X3 I'm guessing… a lot. She totally just cock blocked Conan XD (so to speak) For all of those who were waiting to see what happened when Kaito found out about Shinichi… Sucks to be you :P Gotta wait even LONGER –insert evil laugh here- Before any of you yell at me for making you wait: I DO have a reason for not having Kaito find out now X3 I was pretty damn tempted to have Aoko just not show up, but eh. I've had Kaito realizing the truth planned out for a whiiiiile and I plan on doing it that way :P so bleh. It is coming! Don't worry! It's just not coming yet~

Anyways~! Review? ;D Comments? …Mock me on this fail of a chapter? ;~; there. I said it. I hate this chapter. I feel like it's just… aoejselsdjfd /shot but I'm not going to wait for Dai-chan to come back and fix it. Ain't fair to you guys. See you all soon! ^.^

PS: Did anyone else image Conan as a nurse when Shinichi made that comment? If you didn't, you did now X3

~Angel~


	18. Trust In You

_Anonymous Review Replies:_

_Nobody22: Yes, yes that was evil ;D And I'm glad you thought it was brilliant ^.^ And I wonder too :P Guess we're both gonna have to wait, aren't we? ;D Sorry~!_

_Firepaw: Because Aoko's horrible and mean like that :I and does what I tell her to~ I hate them and love them too! 8D Love to write them, hate to read them (huffs)_

_Lizard: Sorry! :P you and the rest of my readers (And Dai-chan) Wanted to see what would happen too! And why? CUZ I CAN 8D Yes he was so close to learning! But nope~! Guru-chan is locked away somewhere in my dorm room. I'm still mad at him for all the trouble he put me through last time I wrote with him! Here's your update! Sorry it took so long!_

_K.K: I hate Ran. She can go die. Shinichi better man up and admit his love to Kaito instead of that whiney little ooooh! (rant rage rant) Here's your update =D_

_Ivi: Hiya! How can you be pissed at Kai-Chan? D: Yes yes it is evil ;D Stupid Kai-chan needs to be hit on the effing head. (nods) Here's your new chapter!_

**A/N**: I KNOW. I KNOW. IT'S LIKE TWO MONTHS LATE. What do I say to that? MEH. The first few weeks/month were just out of sheer laziness, then I spent the last of my few weeks home with my friends and then… OHAI COLLEGE. I've been a busy little thing x.x I finally have a little time off and I actually had Dai-chan look at some shit! I was planning on stopping at the 6 page mark… but I felt like you guys deserved the full 9 pages that I have done. I made you guys wait so you deserve the full amount of what I have… despite it being a little evil~

Enough of my ranting! Read! Gogogo!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing~! If I did I wouldn't be in college -.- …well I might. I love it here~ X3**

**Chapter 17**: **Trust In You**

* * *

Dinner had gone rather smoothly, much to Kaito's relief. He didn't say much while they all ate, however, his mind whirling with thoughts from the events from earlier.

Snake had showed up, shoved him down the stairs, that Chibi showed up, was about to tell him something, and then Aoko showed up.

It hadn't been a fun evening for the magician.

And Shinichi hadn't even showed up to save him, either. What nerve! First he drops a bomb on him that he doesn't think Conan is with the Organization, and then just disappears like that.

Stupid snobby detective.

"Is it really that late?" Aoko's gasp brought Kaito back to the present, putting those thoughts to the back of his head for later. "The trains are going to be stopping for the night soon." Aoko turned her attention back to Conan, a slight frown on her lips. "Conan-kun how are you going to get home?" she asked. Kaito opened his mouth to comment, but the mini detective beat him to the punch.

"I can just stay with Kaito-niichan!" Conan said, smiling in his childlike way. "Right, Kaito-niichan?" he asked, turning towards the thief, he blinked in surprise, caught off guard by the sudden request.

"Oh great idea!" Aoko said, grinning. "That way you still have time to talk to JerKaito about that stupid Kid!" she said, her grin growing. "Why don't you head upstairs and let your parents know that you'll be staying here?" Conan nodded and stood up, making his way towards the stairs.

"Okay~! I'll be back in a few minutes!" Conan said, rushing up the stairs and heading towards one of the empty rooms. Before he made it all the way upstairs, however, he heard Kaito cry "Don't I get a say in this?" Conan rolled his eyes, the amusement clear on his face as he reached a door and opened it, stepping inside.

Conan closed the door behind him, wasting a few moments before pulling out his phone wanting to make sure that he was completely alone. Confirming that Kaito and Aoko were in fact still downstairs, the shrunken detective pulled out his phone, scrolling through the contacts. He was going to regret this, he knew he was, but he had no idea what to do.

He hesitated a few moments once he found the number he wanted, debating between stopping now or continuing with this horrible idea.

Sighing, Conan opted for following through. He hit the call button and put the device to is ear, hoping he got an answer. The mini detective began to pace around the room, feeling very anxious. How should he tell the other? Would they be mad? Afraid for his well being?

Think he was the stupidest idiot to walk the earth?

Hearing the sixth ring, Conan's hopes fell when he heard a click on the other line, figuring all he got was the answering machine.

"Kudo!"

The voice surprised Conan slightly, causing him to jump a bit. Well, at least it wasn't an answering machine.

"How's my favorite chibi?" Heiji said, the smirk clear in his voice. "Need help on a case or something? That's so cute that you'd come to me for help!" The Osaken said, boosting his own ego. Conan's eyes narrowed as he glared at the air, his annoyance spiking.

"Baro! Don't say such ridiculous things!" Conan scolded, causing Heiji to laugh in reply. "And why would I call you for help on a case? I'm perfectly capable of handling my own cases!"

"Then how did you end up four feet shorter and your voice three octaves higher?" Heiji asked, his smirk growing as he poked fun at the other boy. The Osakan was met with silence, his amusement growing the longer the silence lasted.

"…When will I learn to stop calling you, baro?" Conan asked, his voice deadpanning. "I don't even know why I called you. Ja ne~" he said, moving to slam his phone shut, ending his conversation with the other.

"Ahou! Matte matte!" Heiji said quickly, laughing the whole time. "I was just poking fun! You're too high strung, Kudo!"

"And you're too carefree, Hattori." Conan countered, huffing out his cheeks. Conan's comment was met with a chuckle, causing Conan to roll his eyes, his annoyance rising once more.

"But seriously, Kudo ya need something?" Heiji asked still chuckling. "I doubt you called to flatter me so." Conan bit his lip at the question, anxiety buildings up in his chest. Well, it was now or never.

"I… I almost told Kaito the truth." Conan admitted after a short pause. Heiji blinked at the words, silent for a few moments himself.

"Well it's a good thing you didn't." Heiji finally said, much calmer than Conan expected. "'Cuz if you did tell him he'd probably feel like a pedophile."

Conan face planted at the words, slowly sitting up, his face bright red. "N-not that truth, hentai!" Conan all but shouted into the phone. "I almost told him about… you know… Who I am." Conan said quietly into the phone. The confession was met with silence, the shrunken detective getting more and more anxious as time went out.

"You did WHAT!" Heiji shouted into the phone, causing Conan to wince.

"Now that's the reaction I was looking for."

"Kudo!"

Conan sighed at the other's yell. "I said I _almost_ told him. Keyword in there being almost. I was interrupted before I could finish."

"Good!" Heiji said, his voice still pretty loud. "Why in your right mind would you do such an idiotic thing? What if he told someone? How do you know you can trust this ahou?"

"What would he gain by telling people my secret?" Conan asked. "Plus I know a big secret of his, so if he does threaten to tell someone, which I highly doubt he will, I can always use that to my advantage."

"But why this Kaito guy? Why not 'Nee-chan or something?"

And there it was. The inevitable question Conan had hoped Heiji wouldn't ask. Taking a deep breath and let it out slowly, mentally preparing himself for what was to come.

"Because… Because he thinks Shinichi's dead… And that he's at fault. Kaito blames himself for my supposed death. And… I'm pretty sure it's slowly destroying his mind…" he said slowly, screwing his eyes shut as if to block out the world.

"…Are you completely sure he's losing his mind, Kudo?" Heiji asked after a long pause, letting the information sink in. "Maybe you're just over thinking this whole thing. That is some pretty heavy stuff, after all."

"That's what I thought at first…" Conan mused, putting his hand to his chin. "But I met up with Hakuba Saguru," Conan ignored Heiji's snort at the name. "And he gave good evidence as to why he believes this to be true. Kaito's jumpy, paranoid… sees and hears things that no one else can…" Conan said, letting the words smack him in the face again, his guilt returning.

The Osakan was silent for a while, mulling over the words he'd just heard. After what felt like an eternity to Conan, Heiji finally spoke. "…There has to be another way, Kudo." Heiji said lowly. "Have you really, and I mean _really_ thought about what you're planning on doing? Can you really trust this guy?"

"Yes," Conan said, no hesitation in his voice. "Kaito and I may not… agree on some things, but I do trust Kaito with my life." He said firmly, Heiji went silent again, a little surprised by Conan's words.

"Well… if you're absolutely sure…" Heiji eventually said. "I don't like it, but if you think it'll help at all…"

"I do," Conan said, his voice still holding firm. "I know there's something else going on with Kaito, but I'm sure this will help him, if only a little. Put his mind at ease, you know?"

"I hope you know what you're getting into, Kudo." Heiji said, the weak smile apparent in his voice. "Just know if you get into trouble again make sure to call me! I'll get you out of any situation easily!" Heiji finished with a laugh, causing Conan to seethe.

"You'll be the one calling me for help, baro!" Conan snapped before closing the phone, cutting off whatever Heiji wanted to say. Conan let out a sigh as he pocketed his phone, sitting down o the ground, putting his head on his knees. That conversation hadn't been nearly as helpful as Conan would have liked. At least Heiji had agreed that telling Kaito the truth couldn't hurt… In theory.

Now that Conan sat and thought about it, why does he have to tell Kaito the full truth? Conan could easily just tell Kaito that Shinichi was a friend of his and Conan knew for a fact that Shinichi was just on a very long case and will be back soon. The shrunken detective could ease Kaito's conscious without revealing his biggest secret. So then why… Conan's eyes widened.

Conan _wanted_ Kaito to know.

Conan wanted to tell Kaito everything, to confide in the white clad thief. He'd wanted to tell Ran from the beginning, a part of him still did, but not to this magnitude. Conan had wanted to tell Ran so she wouldn't worry, he wanted to tell Kaito merely for the sake of telling Kaito.

A groan escaped his lips as he lightly hit his head on the door behind him. Irrational impulses and a want to share everything.

Yup.

Conan was definitely in love with the bastard.

The shrunken detective jumped when a loud 'thud' sounded from down the hall, not having expected it. Conan waited for a few moments before standing up, putting his hand on the doorknob. What could have made that noise…?

"Conan-kun!" Came Aoko's voice from the other side of the door. "Where'd you go Conan-kun?" Conan let out a sigh before plastering a smile on his lips.

"Right here Aoko-neechan!" Conan replied, walking out of the room. "What was that noise just now?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I was just laying out the futon in JerKaito's room." Aoko said, smiling at Conan. Conan's eyes widened a bit. He'd be sharing a room with Kaito? "The idiot's already fallen asleep in his bed." Aoko added, frowning a bit and shaking her head from side to side. "He must have been pretty tired to just pass out like that. I'm sure you'll be able to talk to him in the morning." A soft smile appeared on Aoko's lips as she looked down at Conan. "That was why you came over today, right?"

"Hai," Conan said, putting on the best smile he could. He'd actually be alone in a room with Kaito for the night. The shrunken detective knew nothing would happen, but still. The fact that he'd be alone with Kaito was enough to make his heart pound.

"I left some of Kaito's old pajama's on the futon for you." Aoko said, dragging Conan out of his thoughts. "Chikage-chan and Jii-chan should be back pretty soon, so you can head right to bed. I'm sorry I can't stay longer, but I do have to get back to Tou-san." Aoko said, frowning a little bit.

"It's alright, Aoko-neechan!" Conan said, smiling still. "I'm pretty tired anyways. I'll change and head right to bed!" Aoko smiled and ruffled Conan's hair. "Alright. Call me if Bakaito needs anything." At Conan's nod, Aoko turned and headed downstairs, the sound of a door clicking shut echoed around the house after a few moments.

As soon as Conan was sure Aoko was gone, he quickly pulled out his phone and gave Ran a call, assuring her that he was fine and was staying with the professor for the night. Once they said their goodbyes Conan closed the phone and made his way towards Kaito's room, his heart thundering in his chest. Why was he so nervous right now? It was just that stupid thief!

With that thought in mind, Conan took a deep breath and opened the door quietly, not wanting to disturb the slumbering thief.

The room was dark, the only source of light coming from the open window, a near full moon in the sky. Conan's eyes traveled to the futon that was laid out for him, a pair of pajamas on top of the sheets, more than likely some Kaito used when he was a kid. Conan let his eyes begin to travel around the room, a small amount of amusement appearing in his eyes when he noticed the miscellaneous items around the room. He made a mental note not to get too close to one, not wanting to end up a pink ninja duck or something.

Blue eyes soon landed on the bed and Conan's eyes softened considerably. Kaito was fast asleep, face down on his bed. Conan's eyes narrowed in worry when he noticed the rather large bruise on the thief's back. The shrunken detective made his way over to the bed, holding out one hand hesitantly towards the sleeping teen. He moved closer to Kaito and gently touched the others bare arm, feeling the muscles tense for a few moments before relaxing under Conan's touch. Smiling at that, Conan began to slowly rub the others arm in a soothing motion, his smile growing when he felt Kaito relax a little more.

"Don't worry, stupid thief…" Conan said softly. "I won't let you suffer alone anymore… I'm going to help you out of whatever hole you've dug yourself into… I won't let you go insane that easily…" Conan slowly moved his hand away from Kaito's arm, seeing the limb shiver a bit at the loss of warmth. Conan bit his lip then, hesitantly leaning closer to the bed, having to get up on his toes to get close to Kaito's face. Pausing merely to gaze at the thief's face before leaning in and kissing Kaito's exposed cheek.

Face completely flushed, Conan pulled back quickly and grabbed the pajamas and left the room, heading for the bathroom.

Conan soon came back into the room in Kaito's clothes, face still tinted pink from his earlier actions. Placing his clothes on Kaito's computer chair, Conan moved to the futon and lied down on it, getting under the covers. The mini detective slipped off his glasses and put them next to the futon, putting his head on the pillow and taking one last glance at the slumbering thief.

"G'night… stupid thief…" Conan muttered, turning a nice shade of pink before turning over in his futon, getting comfortable and closing his eyes, letting sleep claim him.

* * *

Kaito let out a groan as he turned his head away from the window, the sun blaring into his room. Kaito tried to fall back asleep, but he couldn't get comfortable. He rolled over onto his back, letting out a hiss of pain, his head and back aching horribly.

Right. That snake bastard shoved him down the fucking stairs.

Sighing, Kaito rolled onto his side, facing the wall. When had he fallen asleep last night? Conan had gone upstairs and he followed after a few minutes later, wanting to change clothes. He must have just lied down after taking off his shirt and just passed out. The thief sighed again. Now he'd have to wait to talk to Conan about Shinichi…

A groan sounded from behind Kaito, causing the boy to sit up quickly, making his head swim a bit. The magician blinked as he looked at the form on the futon, raising an eyebrow. Right. The chibi had ended up staying the night. Kaito moved the covers off of himself, moving his legs onto the floor, looking at Conan, his eyebrow still raised.

It was then that Conan rolled over, facing Kaito, his eyes slowly opening as he woke up. He stared at the other for a few moments. As soon as it clicked that Conan was facing Kaito, a _shirtless_ Kaito, Conan's eyes widened as his face heated up. The shrunken detective pulled the covers over his head, trying to hide his blush. "M-morning!" Conan said, his voice muffled by the covers. Kaito blinked a few times, chuckling.

"Morning." Kaito said, laughing still. "Sorry about falling asleep on you last night, Chibi-tantei." He said, moving his back a bit, stretching out the stiff muscles.

"S'fine!" Conan said, his blush finally beginning to disappear. "You had a nasty fall and Aoko-neechan said you didn't get much sleep last night so it's only natural that you were tired." Conan said. "Speaking of your fall…" Conan started, moving the covers just enough so that only his eyes and nose showed. "How's your head and back?" he asked, frowning in worry.

Kaito blinked a few times and looked at Conan, surprise clear on his face. The chibi sounded genuinely worried about him. Maybe Shinichi had been right about this brat. "They're… They're better. Still hurt a bit, though, but not too much. I'll be fine." He said shrugging, wincing a bit as he did so.

Conan noticed this and his worried frown deepened as he sat up in bed. "Maybe you should take pain killers or something… I'm sure you'll feel better if you do." He said, blushing a bit in embarrassment as he did so.

Kaito couldn't help but chuckle, finding the others embarrassment rather… cute. The thief quickly shook that from his head. He wasn't going to think such things about someone that was potentially in the Black Organization. The thief opened his mouth to comment when his door burst open.

"Time to get up Kai-chan and Conan-chan!" Chikage said, smiling widely. "Oh good! You two are already up! I'll go get you guys some breakfast and you two can change!" and with that said the woman left, leaving behind a blinking Kaito and an unamused Conan.

"Kuroba-san seems… very chipper in the morning." Conan deadpanned, grabbing his glasses and sliding them on. Kaito chuckled and stood up, making his way over towards his dresser.

"That's Kaa-chan for you." Kaito said, pulling out a fresh pair of boxers, jeans, and a red T-shirt. "I'd get dressed now before she comes back and tries to dress you herself." He said. Conan's eyes widened and he looked at Kaito, disbelief written all over his face.

"She wouldn't."

"She would. Make up and all."

Conan shot out of the bed, grabbed his clothes and was in the bathroom before Kaito could blink.

The thief let out a chuckle as soon as Conan was out of the room, shaking his head from side to side. As soon as he finished changing, Kaito made his way downstairs, letting out a yawn as he did so. Kaito made his way into the kitchen, sitting down at the stable, smiling softly as he watched his mother hum as she cooked.

Conan came down a few minutes later, a frown on his lips. "Ran-neechan just called." He informed, causing Kaito to blink again. "She wants me to head home now, since she and her Tou-san are going to be out for the day."

"Aw! That's too bad!" Chikage said, pouting. "Oh well! You're welcome back anytime, Conan-chan!" She said, going back to her cooking.

"Aritgato~" Conan said, smiling as he headed for the door. "Thank you for having me! Ja ne!"

"Matte!" Kaito stood up and met Conan at the door, frowning a bit. "You came all this way to tell me something. What was it?" he asked.

Conan bit his lips, glancing away from the thief. "I'll… tell you next time. When I have more time." He said, hating how he had to go so soon. Kaito frowned a bit but nodded at the answer. The thief waved goodbye as Conan left, his curiosity spiking. What in the hell did Conan want to tell him?

Once Conan was gone, Kaito closed the recently fixed door and headed back into the kitchen for breakfast. Despite wanting to go back up to his room, Kaito stayed in the kitchen and ate, much to his mothers delight. As soon as he was done, Kaito went back upstairs to his room, saying he had homework to do.

Once in his room, Kaito went straight to his computer and turned it on, a thought occurring to him. As soon as the computer was booted up, Kaito once again attempted to gain information on one Edogawa Conan. Much to his chagrin, Kaito once again came up with little to nothing on the boy. Scowling, Kaito was moments away from giving up his search when he had an epiphany.

The chibi was staying with a semi-famous detective. Maybe…

Kaito began his search again with newfound vigor. Instead of looking up information on Conan, Kaito looked up information on Mouri Kogoro, the Sleeping Detective.

The thief couldn't believe it. Every picture there was of Kogoro, Conan was somewhere in there as well, at the very least in the background.

_So…_ Shinichi said, appearing behind Kaito and looking over his shoulder. _The kid hangs around murder cases a lot. Doesn't mean he's in the Black Organization. I mean—_

"You're right," Kaito interrupted.

_Just hear me out Ka—what now?_ Shinichi asked, completely caught off guard. _You're actually listening to what I'm saying_?

"Sort of…" Kaito said, his eyes narrowing in thought as he looked at the image in front of him. "Members of the Organization don't dance around what they want or say. They're blunt and to the point. Conan… is not. He can be blunt, but from what I see not all the time. If he was, he would have told me what he wanted right away instead of putting it off. Plus…" Kaito trailed off again, leaning back in his chair and putting his hands behind his head. He tilted his head to the side as he glanced at Shinichi, an odd look in his eyes. "I get the same feeling from as I get from you, Shin-chan~" he said, grinning a bit.

_Same feeling as from me…?_ Shinichi said slowly, confused. _What do you mean exactly, baro?_ He asked, narrowing his eyes a bit.

"It's simple," Kaito said, clearing his history before shutting off his computer. He looked back over at Shinichi, grinning widely again. "I trust him, just like I trust you, Shin-chan."

* * *

**A/N**: I'm a little troll, ain't I? X3 And I lied. Dai-chan hasn't seen the last part. But shhh! She can't find out! She's (probably) Already gonna kill me for what I have planned out next! And btw: Why did I choose to update today? X3 It's been a year since I first posted! I felt it an important date to update this bitch. But I'm not gonna lie. I have no idea when I'll update next. I've finally caught up to what I've written and I don't have as NEARLY as much time as I'd like to to write Dx between classes, two clubs, Quidditch practice (lawl why the hell not join my schools Quidditch team?) homework and having a life… yeah. I'm barely in front of my computer except at night. I WAS gonna write more of what's to come on Friday… but then my friend Johnny showed up and dragged me to math class. Grrrr.

I'll try to get the next chapter out ASAP but I can't make any promises :/ Classes and shit are my priority (even though I usually WRITE in some classes… ;D;;; ) so I'll see what I can do about writing when I can x.x Sorry in advance if it's a while!

Anyways review please~! They make me so happy to see them! :3 you have no idea~

Don't kill me for the long waits? D:

~Angel~


	19. Secrets Uncovered

_Anonymous Review Replies: _

_Conan4wardstone: Awww! Only kinda pissed? I was expecting enraged but eh ;D Whatever~ Shinichi's getting there! The world just hates him right now xD Here's your update! Sorry for the wait!_

_Lizard: lol soon! …maybe ;D –troll- I wanna see that reaction too! I know! It's taking him soooo long to realize Conan's not evil enough to be in the BO :P Oh. You'll LOVE this chapter then. Conan realizes more than a FEW things. …frack him ._. You'll see what I mean in the chapter and at my last AN. Here's your update! ;D_

_Ivi: YOU. I LIKE YOUR LOGIC. REMEMBER THAT AS YOU READ THE FIRST HALF. Anyways yes x3 yes he is cute when he blushes. Especially with Kaito. You're very welcome for the chapter :D I personally this is a but rushed and sloppy but eh :/ such is life. Here's your chappie none the less!_

_Firepaw: …I'm a troll and because why the hell not? :3 I loved that conversation with Heiji xD I laughed while writing that in class. Yes! Yes it is a plus! Here's your chapter!_

_Hikaru: HERE'S YOUR UPDATE._

**A/N**: Few things: DEAR GOD IS THIS SHIT LATE. AORDOGJSLJ. Sooo sorry Dx Been busy and lazy and ffff. Sorry D: But it's eight pages and soooo much shit happens. More than I would have liked but Conan sucks -_- You'll see what I mean. Now before you start reading: PROMISE YOU WON'T KILL ME. DO IIIIT. Remember: If you kill me I can't make it better~ :3 but yeah this chapter proves how much of a troll I am. I even have Dai-chan anxious! Mentioning her this is unbetaed for the time being and WILL be fixed when it's not almost 2 in the morning and she's available to edit. Preeetty sure I found them all but eh. There are some stragglers. –grumbles-. But yeah. I'll try to have the next chapter up ASAP but we'll see. Thank you for your patient! And happy new year! 8D

**Disclaimer**: Lawl nope. Don't own. Just the plot and the evil trolling.

* * *

**Chapter 18: Secrets Uncovered **

Hakuba let out a yawn as he sat down at his kitchen table, a cup of steaming hot coffee in his hand. He'd been out late last night, scoping out a good portion of Tropical Land for any clues on where Shinichi could have gone.

Much to his great annoyance, there had been _nothing._

Oh well. He'd known that it might have been a dead end, but he had to check out the scene anyways, just to be sure. All he'd really gotten out of his endeavor was meeting up with Conan once again and going over his theory again as he repeated it to the young detective.

Letting out a sigh as he took another big gulp of coffee, Hakuba went over everything in his head again, trying to figure out what to do next. He highly doubted that he'd be able to get anything out of Kaito, and there wasn't anything that Conan could really help him with. As a result, Hakuba was out of leads for the moment. He could always talk to Akako about the whole thing again, but seeing the self proclaimed witch usually left Hakuba with more questions than answers.

Finishing his coffee, Hakuba stood up and left the cup in the sink, beginning to make his way up towards his room. Well, if all else fails, he could look up more information about Kudo Shinichi. There had to be _something_ that would lead Hakuba to the whereabouts of the Heisi Holmes.

Hakuba quickly sat in front of his computer and began to search for any and all information on Shinichi. Luckily there was plenty of information on the detective, unfortunately, they were mostly news articles on cases he had solved and thus, unimportant to the half Brit. Hakuba narrowed his eyes at the screen and quickly pulled up the article he had been looking at only a short while ago: the article on Kudo Shinichi's case at Tropical Land the day he, supposedly, went on a long case.

Having read the article itself multiple times, Hakuba let out a sigh and scrolled down the page, past the article on Shinichi. It was a news website, so there were more articles under the one about Shinichi. Hakuba ignored those ones, however, looking for something else that could possibly be about the MIA detective. He knew that there was a slim chance, but if there was _anything_ on the young detective—

Wait. What the hell was that?

Hakuba scrolled back up to an article that took place only a few days after Shinichi left. It was about a murder and the person that had discovered who the killer was. Who was that person?

Edogawa Conan.

Hakuba frowned and scrolled up again, trying to see if there were any more articles around that time about Conan. As the half Brit suspected, there were none before that one. Scrolling back down, Hakuba saw plenty of articles about Conan, but only after Shinichi disappeared.

So… Conan began making a name for himself shortly after Shinichi went off on that supposed case of his. Coincidence?

Hakuba didn't believe in such things.

Conan did resemble a younger Shinichi, and the small detective was living with Shinichi's life long friend. Plus, that boy did seem much smarter than any grade-schooler should be. And he was quite comfortable around dead bodies, despite being so young…

Moving away from his computer, Hakuba walked out of his room and headed downstairs, grabbing his keys and wallet before leaving his home, heading straight for the train station. A smirk rested on the detectives lips as he all but ran for the station, determined to see if his hunch was right or not.

If it was, which was highly likely, Kudo Shinichi had been right under their noses the whole time.

* * *

Conan let out a sigh as he mindlessly switched from channel to channel, trying to find something to keep his mind from wandering too far. Usually in times like these, he'd either go out with the Shonen Tantei, or go and hang out with professor. But, he'd promised Ran that he'd stay home today and out of trouble while Kogoro and her were out for the day.

He hoped at least one of them returned soon, itching to get out and just _do_ something right now. The ideal thing to do would be to head back to Ekoda, but Conan wasn't sure if going back so soon would be such a good idea. He still wanted to tell Kaito who he was, desperately so, but he had to build up his nerve to do so, having lost it when he left earlier that morning.

Stupid Ran and her stupid worrying.

Sighing again as he merely just through the remote to the side after turning off the TV, Conan all but shrank into the cushions, wanting something to do right now.

He was moments away from calling Heiji again when he heard a knock at the door. Looking over the back of the couch, Conan debated just ignoring the door, figuring it was someone looking for the 'Sleeping Detective'. That debate was quickly settled, however, when there came another loud, annoying bang from the door. Well, whoever was outside _really_ wanted Conan's attention right now. Shaking his head from side to side, Conan hopped off the couch and made his way towards the door, his annoyance growing when another bang sounded from the door.

"What can I do for—Oh. It's just you," Conan said, deadpanning when he noticed that it was just the half Brit. He'd been expected a costumer for Kogorou, but oh well. At least he wouldn't be bored. "Sorry about yesterday…" Conan said, rubbing the back of his neck as he moved to the side, granting the half Brit entrance to his home. "I just… had to follow up on a lead."

"It is quite alright, Edogawa-kun," Hakuba said, a smug tone in his voice as he walked into the agency, his head held high and an air of superiority pouring out of him. "Or should I say Kudo-kun?" he said, turning around and smirking at the boy behind him. Conan paled at that and slammed the door shut, bracing himself against the door as he looked up at Hakuba, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Wh-what did you just say…?" Conan said just above a whisper. "What did you just call me…?" he added, his voice beginning to borderline hysterical.

"I believe I just called you by your name, Kudo-kun." Hakuba said, not surprised by Conan's reaction at all, but curious as to why there were something akin to terror in his eyes.

"_Stop saying that_." Conan hissed out, rushing into the house, looking out a few windows before closing the blinds and looking around the house, seeing if anyone was hiding. Once he was sure no one was around, he looked back up at Hakuba, his face still pale and his heart pounding. "How… how could you have _known_?"

"So, you do not deny that you are, indeed, Kudo Shinichi?" Hakuba said, raising an eyebrow. Conan blinked at that and let out a small stream of curses, realizing too late that he could have at least made a small effort to try and hide his secret. "And I found out on accident, in all honesty." He said, causing Conan to blink. "I was merely looking up information on Kudo-kun when I came across some information on Edogawa Conan. Edogawa-kun appeared only a short time after Kudo-kun and well, I merely connected the dots that were placed in front of me."

Conan let out a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose, his heart pounding so hard in his chest it almost physically hurt. "Does anyone else know about this?" he asked slowly.

"Not at all." Hakuba said, walking further into the house and sitting down on the couch, Conan moving to stand in front of the other, hands in his pockets as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. "I reached my conclusion before making my way over here." Conan nodded at that answer and looked away from the other. Hakuba was definitely not the person he wanted to have this conversation with. It should have been Kaito, not the half Brit. "So… Kudo-kun," Hakuba said, dragging Conan from his thoughts. "Care to elaborate on what happened to you?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Conan took a deep breath, letting his shoulders sag as he looked up at the other, a small look of defeat on his face.

Well, at least he wouldn't be bored for a while.

* * *

A week had passed since Conan's little… confrontation with Hakuba had taken place, and Conan was still rather sore about the whole thing. He had wanted oh so desperately to have that conversation with Kaito that very same day, but alas, God, or whatever entity was out there, clearly had it out for the shrunken teen.

To make matters worse, Conan had not been able to run off to Ekoda again and talk to Kaito, Megure having kept him busy with case after case. It seemed that there was a serial killer at large and it was up to Conan to catch him sooner rather than later.

_Naturally._

Luckily for the shrunken detective, the case had only lasted a few days, much quicker than Megure had led him to believe. After dealing with the paper work that always followed a case, and assure Ran that, yes, he was fine and dandy and no longer had a crazed man out for his life, Conan finally had a day off.

So to speak.

Conan had no intention of sitting around today and relaxing, despite Megure and Ran advising him to do so. He had to get to Ekoda before anything else happened today. He just had to talk to Kaito about who he was.

Taking the steps two at a time as he ran down, Conan called out a quick goodbye as he made a bee-line for the door, not wanting Ran to stop him at all. Luck, as per usual, was not on his side as Ran called out his name, wishing for him to stop. Letting out an agitated sigh, Conan turned around and looked at Ran, pulling up his childish façade.

"Yes, Ran-neechan?" he asked, blinking up at her. Ran's small frown turned into a small smile as she looked at the boy.

"Agasa-Hakase just called. He'd like for you to stop by as soon as possible. Something about a new toy for you…" she said, trailing off a bit, frowning. Conan blinked at that, not having known that the professor had been working on a new gadget.

"Alright," Conan said, grinning as he turned toward the door. This could work to his advantage. He could probably just have the professor drive him over to Kaito's. It would be faster than the train, anyways. "I was just heading out anyways! I'll call you later, Ran-neechan!" he called over his shoulder as he slammed the door shut behind him.

He let out a sigh as he began to walk towards the professor's house, going over everything in his head for the millionth time. He'd go to Kaito's talk to the man, tell him who he was and promptly beg for forgiveness. It was the shrunken detectives fault that Kaito was slowly going insane, after all.

Well him and whatever mysterious trouble Kaito had gotten into.

Only problem was, how did he convince Kaito of who he was? Did he tell the other something that only Shinichi would know? Or did he prove he was Shinichi by _being _Shinichi. He scowled a bit at the thought. It was good way to prove to Kaito who he really was, but how would Kaito react to seeing Shinichi? After all, Kaito thought Shinichi was dead.

That was a lot to consider when dealing with someone who wasn't mentally stable.

Sighing once more, Conan walked up to the professor's door and simply let himself in, not even bothering to toe off his shoes as he walked in.

"Agasa-Hakase!" he called out as he headed toward the library, figuring that's where he could find his friend. Upon hearing an explosion, Conan rolled his eyes and quickened his pace, wondering what went wrong this time. "Agasa-Hakase?" he asked as he peered into the room, coughing a little at the smoke.

"A-ah Shinichi-kun…" The professor said, the front of his lab coat charred from the explosion, hacking up the smoke he just accidentally inhaled. "I am sorry to make you come all this way for nothing… but that _had _been my newest invention for you… Sneakers that not only increased your kicking abilities but also would have allowed you to walk up solid walls and such. Ah well." He sighed, looking down at the spot in front of him, which was still smoking.

"I warned you that this might happen, Agasa-Hakase." Haibara said, walking into the room with a fire extinguisher and putting out the smoke and flames. As soon as the task was done, she turned her attention back to Conan, a small smirk on her lips. "Glad to see you missed the explosion, Kudo-kun." She said as she began to make her way out of the room.

Not sure what to say to that, Conan just merely nodded, dumbfounded, He wasn't sure if he should take that as a compliment or an insult. It was hard to tell with Haibara sometimes. Turning his attention back to the professor, Conan smiled weakly, slightly amused by the professors mishap.

"I truly am sorry, Shinichi-kun…" the professor said, frowning a bit as he stood up, attempting to wipe some of the soot from his coat but failing horribly. "I shall have the shoes ready for you next time!" he promised, nodding to himself.

"It's alright, Agasa-Hakase," Conan said as he stood in front of the man, his hands resting in his pants pockets. "And I can think of one thing that you can do to make up for making me come all the over here on my day off." The professor raised an eyebrow at that, a bad feeling settling into his stomach. What was Conan involved with this time? "Do you think you could drive me to Ekoda?" he asked.

Agasa blinked at that, not expecting such a request. "Well… I guess I could. Especially since, knowing you, you'd run into a dead body of some sort on your way there." Conan laughed nervously at that, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Just let me change clothes and get cleaned up and I shall drive you to Ekoda." Conan nodded as the professor quickly left the library, off to get ready.

Eager to get going, Conan made his way back to the front hall, blinking when he saw Haibara heading towards him.

"Ah, Kudo-kun, I was just coming to get you." She said, blinking in surprise himself. "Someone's… uh… here to see you." She said, narrowing her eyes a bit in distrust. Conan blinked but shrugged, following her towards the entrance.

"Kudo!"

Was it too late for him to turn around yet?

Standing at the entrance of Agasa's front door was none other than Heiji, a wide amused smirk on his lips. Conan blinked at the sight of the Osakan, wondering what other surprises he was in for today.

"Happy ta see me, Kudo?" Heiji said, that grin still plastered on his face as he looked down at his scowling friend.

"Baaaro," Conan said, pouting a bit as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Usually when I see you, bodies start falling from the sky!" Heiji chuckled at that and shook his head from side to side. He soon turned serious, however, causing a bad feeling to settle in his stomach.

"But seriously, Kudo. Megure asked me to come here for something. Something big." He said, causing Conan to blink. How had he not heard of this? "Actually, it was Nakamori who contacted my old man. There's apparently been a break in some big Kaitou Kid thing."

Conan perked up at that. What had happened to his thief now? "What kind of break? What happened, Hattori?" he asked, his tone as tense as hid body. Kaito hadn't gotten hurt or worse, captured, had he?

"Well," Hattori started out slow, one of his hands going to his chin as he looked off to the side. "Apparently a lot of people, detectives, police, ya name it, have been, lookin' inta some of the stuff Kid's been takin'. So far they just thought it was random thin's. Turns out they're all connected somehow." Conan's eyes widened at that.

"Connected… how?" he asked slowly, fearing the answer. Heiji looked back at Conan, his face completely serious, an odd look in his eyes. Conan didn't like that look one bit.

"Well, from wat the police are sayin' is dat with the stuff he stole, Kid has the potential to… make some kinda gravity device or somethin'." He said, causing Conan's eyes to wide. What did Kaito need a gravity device for?

On second thought, Conan didn't want to find out.

Despite that, a voice kept nagging at the back of Conan's brain. This was completely against what Kaito usually did. Why would he need something that messed with gravity? He already messed around with physics, so why this?

Conan's eyes widened.

Someone else must be pulling Kaito's strings!

Someone must have been using Kaito to steal all those things, so that they could create the device. They must have been blackmailing him or something to get him to do—

Oh god.

The people who were using Kaito must have been using his "disappearance" as leverage. It didn't take a genius to notice that, despite being on opposite sides of the law, Kaito and Shinichi had a sort of… truce in a way. Inform Kaito that Shinichi was dead, and a little lie to say that they did it, and Kaito would be too terrified to disobey.

So _that's_ why Kaito was so stressed out and paranoid. This… organization or whatever must have been blackmailing Kaito with the lives of his loved ones. Wait…

Organization…?

_Oh shit._

Agasa had just walked into the room when Conan turned to him with wide, terrified eyes. "Agasa-Hakase! We have to get to Ekoda! _Now_!" he said, his heart hammering in his chest. Heiji blinked as he looked down at his little friend, suddenly worried about what had just transpired through his head. "I'll explain on the way!" he said, rushing out the door.

"M-matte, Kudo!" Hattori called out, rushing after the other. Agasa stood there blinking for a moment before snatching his keys and following the boys out, slamming his door shut as he did so.

Oh he was so going to get a speeding ticket if Conan's sudden mood swing was any indication.

* * *

**A/N**: I hate Conan at the end. Just saying. HE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO FIGURE ALL THAT SHIT OUT. HE. JUST. DID. Hakuba did what I want (Troll your sorry asses) but no. Conan had to go and mess it up -_- If it's not one detective being annoying it's another. Lajlajsdfsd /annoyed

Anyways… HI 8D DON'T FORGET. YOU ALL (hopefully) PROMISED NOT TO KILL ME. Killing is frowned upon and means I can't finish this fic. :3 And with this chapter I saw… three are left until it's done? Maybe? I'm getting close ._. We'll see what comes after this~ This is my giant, evil baby, after all.

I'll update ASAP! I'll try not to make it as long this time~

Review please? D: I enjoy the love, take into account the criticism, and lawl at your flaming and trolling~!

~Angel~


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